Monsters and Men
by Pearl For Katniss
Summary: Katniss learns a valuable lesson about who the true monsters are when she meets burn victim Peeta Mellark. The town of Panem regards him as a fire mutt, a savage beast created from the flames that killed his entire family and left him scarred for life, but Katniss soon discovers the sweet man behind the veil of pain and sadness. AU. Everlark.
1. Chapter 1

**Rated M for minor mature content in later chapters. **

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His haunting blue eyes stare out at me from behind the safety of the large metal door that separates us. Most of his body is hidden within the house, but I can see part of his face and one of his hands. Almost unnoticeable burn scars travel across his pale cheek and end just above his eye. A mop of unruly blonde curls sits atop his head and serves as a curtain to hide some of the scars from view. His lips are twisted down in what appears to be a scowl, though he comes across as frightened rather than frightening. I see a hint of fear in those blue eyes of his. This is the fire mutt that everyone warned me about, the scourge of Panem? He looks terrified, wounded, lonely. Not at all what I expected a vicious monster to look like. "Peeta Mellark?"

He opens the door wider so I can get a good look at the inside of his house. The living room would be completely empty if not for the large couch in the middle of the room. This is more like a prison cell than a home. "That's what they used to call me. Haven't heard that name since before the fire." He looks me up and down before moving out of my way. "You must be Katniss Everdeen. Please, come in."

"How do you know my name?" I ask curiously as I cross the threshold into his home. Dust has settled on every inch of the creaky floorboards and unused countertops. It would be nearly impossible to believe that someone actually lived here if the living proof wasn't making his way to the kitchen right now.

"You're the girl everybody is talking about," he tells me with a slight shake of his head. "The one who isn't afraid of me." He disappears into the kitchen and returns seconds later with two glasses of water. "Here. For the only one who has visited me in years."

I take the glass and stare at it for a long time, deciding whether or not to drink it. It could be poisoned or laced with some drug that will knock me out. People are always claiming to be sexually assaulted by this man, but he looks as if he hasn't had company in a long time. Not wanting to upset my generous host, I take a big gulp of the water before setting the half-empty glass on the counter. "Your water tastes better than mine."

A chuckle escapes his lips. "It's filtered water from the grocery store. You don't know how many times my own neighbors have tried to poison my water supply. Can't drink from the tap if I don't want to die." He takes a seat on the couch and motions for me to sit beside him. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

My eyes fall on the other side of his face, the side I couldn't see before. Patches of pink, disfigured skin covers his cheek like a mask. His nose, half of his lips, and his left eye were so badly damaged by the flames that not even the many surgeries he got could fix them. None of that matters to me, though. I've never been concerned with appearances because I'm not so pretty myself, and there is something about Peeta's calm demeanor that makes me feel relaxed around him. "I wanted to see if the rumors were true."

"Do you think they are true?" His voice is so soft, so quiet that I'm almost sure I imagined it. Tears drip down from his one good eye, but he quickly wipes them away before I can see them clearly. Is he crying? I place a tentative hand on his trembling shoulder, and he tenses up at the sudden touch. Nobody has shown him any kindness from the moment he was pulled from the flames of his family's bakery. "You don't, do you?"

Of course not. There was never any evidence to suggest that the rumors were anything other than lies conjured up from the imaginations of bored teenagers. Peeta Mellark is not a monster. He is a victim that has been treated like dirt after he lost his family in a fire. "No." He casts a sideways glance at me, confusion and disbelief shining in his eyes. "You have been nothing but kind to me since I came into your house a full five minutes ago."

"That's because I don't get really homicidal until ten minutes after I've met my next victim," he jokes with a half-amused laugh. "What are they saying about me now? Am I still murdering young girls and burying their bodies in my backyard?"

I bite my lip to stifle a laugh. The newest rumor is that Peeta bakes unsuspecting girls into cakes and then passes them out to their families. "Now you're a bloodthirsty baker."

He rolls his eyes at the ridiculous accusation. "Haven't baked since the fire." That's what I thought. Everyone in town has taken Peeta's tragedy and twisted it to fit their own sick fantasies. Disgusting. "I've gotten used to the fear, the hatred in their eyes. Nobody cares that I lost my entire family in that fire. Nobody cares that I spend every single day alone."

My hand drops from his shoulder to the hand resting on his leg. He lets out a soft gasp when I entwine my fingers with his. "You're not such a bad guy." His lips twist up into a small smile. "What do you do for fun?"

"Paint." He gets to his feet and pulls me up with him, our hands still clasped together. "Want to see them?" I nod enthusiastically, and he leads me to a room at the very back of the house. Beautiful paintings of sunsets, forests, and realistic animals greet me when I walk into the room. My jaw drops from the sheer shock of how well he paints. "Do you like them?"

"Wow," I breathe as I stop to look at his creations. "These are amazing, Peeta. You're very talented." My favorite one is of a cute little sparrow trying to escape the grasp of an ugly orange cat.

The brightest smile lights up his face. "You really like them? Here." He grabs the one I was admiring from its spot on the wall and gives it to me. "Take any one you want."

I look from the painting in my hands to the man in front of me. Nobody has ever given me such a wonderful gift before. "Thank you." I tuck it under my arm and continue looking around the room. "Where do you get your inspiration?"

Peeta motions to an easel positioned near the window. "I paint whatever I can see from my window."

"Don't you ever go outside?" My heart breaks when he shakes his head sadly. "Why not? You have just as much right to be out there as anybody else!"

"People are afraid of me," he whispers. "Whenever I go outside, somebody insults me or attacks me. Some of these scars are from my neighbors hurtling stones at me." He walks over to a painting of five people standing in front of the bakery that burned down a few years ago. "I should have died in that fire."

I take his hand again and stare into the eyes of the man who has lost everything. "Don't say things like that!" The harsh tone of my voice causes him to flinch. "You deserve to live, Peeta. You deserve to be happy."

"You make me happy," he says sweetly. I'm about to protest when he silences me with a squeeze of his hand. "No, it's true! You are the only person who isn't afraid of me. I haven't had a nice conversation like this in a long time." He brings my hand to his lips and places a soft kiss on my knuckles. My face burns with the intensity of a wild fire at the unexpected gesture of affection, but I don't yank my hand away in embarrassment or disgust. The fact that he chose to thank me with actions instead of words speaks volumes about his personality. Peeta is a sweetheart. "What do you like to do for fun, Katniss?"

"Hunt." He raises an eyebrow curiously and waits for me to offer an explanation for my preferred pastime. "My father used to take me hunting when I was little." What I don't tell him is that my father was killed in a car accident when I was twelve years old and the only reason I continue hunting is so I can feel close to him.

As Peeta leads me back into the living room, I can't help noticing how happy he is right now. All traces of fear, suspicion, or pain have been replaced by pure joy. There is a light blush on his face, topped with a wide grin and his shining blue eyes. He is enjoying himself. "Are you hungry? It's been a while since the food truck stopped by to deliver my groceries, but I'm sure I could find something for you to eat."

"Sure." I sit down on the couch while he fixes us something to eat. "I've been meaning to ask why you don't have any furniture in here." Perhaps that is a touchy subject for him, but I'm genuinely curious as to why his house is so empty.

It couldn't be more than a few minutes before Peeta returns with a plate of mini sandwiches. "My house used to get robbed everyday until all that was left was this couch, my paintings, and my bed upstairs." He offers me some of the tiny snacks. "Eat as many as you like."

Half the plate is gone within seconds, and Peeta watches me with an amused smile on his face. "These are good." He has just enough time to snag one of them before I devour the rest of the sandwiches. "Thanks for the food."

"It would be rude of me not to offer my guest something to eat." He discards the plate on the counter and returns to my side in an instant. "Thank you for visiting me. You have no idea what this means to me."

I don't get a chance to respond before a loud, insistent knocking startles us both. Peeta is about to answer the door when it suddenly bursts open, revealing a furious Gale. "What the hell, Katniss? I saw you come in here and you never came out! And you!" He turns on Peeta like a predator about to kill his prey. "If you hurt her, I'll have you locked up for the rest of your miserable life!"

To say Peeta is scared of Gale would be an understatement. He is absolutely terrified of my angry friend. His legs give out and he falls to the ground, arms raised to defend himself. "I would never hurt her."

"Yeah right! I know what you do. You're responsible for the disappearances, aren't you? All those girls who've gone missing were your latest victims, weren't they?" Before Peeta can deny the accusation, Gale kicks him in the side with enough force to knock him backward.

I launch myself in between the two men, taking Gale's next attack for Peeta. "Stop it, Gale. He hasn't done anything wrong." Horror and then anger flickers in Gale's eyes. He tries to move around me but I won't let him. I won't let him punish an innocent man.

"Katniss, he's a monster!" He shoves me out of the way so he can get to Peeta. I'm so furious with him that I grab his leg and hold on for dear life as he drags me across the floor. He manages to pry me from his leg and then once again shoves me to the ground.

"You're the only monster I see here, Gale!" I shout when it becomes clear that he can easily overpower me. My words have the desired effect of deflating his rage. "You barged into his house unannounced and started attacking him. Tell me, is that the behavior of a man or a monster?"

Peeta crawled over to me sometime during my speech and begun examining my wound. I didn't even notice the pain in my side until his soft fingers brushed over the damaged skin. "Are you okay, Katniss? Should I call a doctor?"

"I'm fine." Gale and I are glaring daggers at each other, and I hope he knows how much I hate him right now for putting Peeta through that ordeal. "What about you?"

He dismisses my concern with a shake of his head. "Don't worry about me."

Gale rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'll be waiting for you outside." He spins on his heel and is out the door before I can even process his words. What a jerk. I hope the door hits him on the way out.

Once he is gone, I pull Peeta into a comforting hug. He shyly rests his head on my shoulder and allows his whole body to relax into the embrace. "I'm so sorry about him. He's not usually a… a…" There aren't even words to describe what Gale is. "A pitiful excuse for a human being."

"It's okay. I'm used to it." He shifts in my arms just enough to return the hug, and I feel strangely at ease with his arms wrapped around me like a blanket of security. Something tells me that Peeta is a lover, not a fighter. He barely tried to defend himself from the verbal and physical abuse he suffered only moments ago. "I really do enjoy your company, Katniss. If you don't think I'm some kind of creep, I'd love for you to visit me again."

My fingers tangle themselves into his blonde curls. "You're not a creep, and I would be honored to spend some more time with you." When we break apart, Peeta hands me the painting I liked so much and walks me to the door. "See you tomorrow?"

"It's a date." He winks to let me know that he's only kidding, then gives my hand a firm shake. "Goodbye, Katniss."


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter is full of Everlark fluff. Enjoy!**

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I stuff my laptop into my backpack and rush over to the shelf where the DVDs are kept, my fingers running over every genre from romantic comedy to action to science fiction. "What type of movies do you think he likes?" Prim only laughs as I dump every last movie we own into my bag. "Never mind. I'll let him pick."

"Katniss, I'm sure he just wants to spend time with you." My sister places a comforting hand on my shoulder. "If he is as nice as you say he is, you have to let me meet him sometime."

The closet door squeaks loudly when I yank it open and dig through our old board games. "Maybe on the weekend, little duck. You're so busy with school and training to be a doctor." Several games with missing pieces are carelessly tossed into my backpack.

Prim lets out a soft sigh. "That reminds me, Mom won't be home tonight. She is working the nightshift at the hospital." I'm about to ask her if she wants me to come home early when she continues. "Don't worry about me. Rory is coming over after school to help me with my homework."

"Don't get into trouble while I'm away." I sling my backpack over my shoulder and head toward the front door. "Are you sure you don't want me to be here when you get home?"

She shakes her head before giving me a goodbye hug. "This man hasn't had company in years. Stay with him as long as you like."

As I slip out of the house and walk across the front lawn, Gale approaches me with a sad look in his eyes. "Another girl has gone missing. One of Madge's friends." Girls have been disappearing left and right over the last year or so. It's impossible to confirm their deaths since nobody has ever found their bodies. "It has to be him, Katniss. The fire mutt is the only one who would do such a thing."

"Why do you think it's him?" I snap angrily. "Because he looks different than you, acts different than you?" Gale has been nothing but rude to me ever since I left Peeta's house yesterday. I understand that he is worried about the girls in town, but he doesn't have the right to place the blame on someone without solid evidence to back it up.

He pats my head like he used to do when we were children. "Just be careful, okay? I already lost my little sister. I can't lose you, too." Gale's sister, Posy, vanished into the night last December along with a little girl named Rue. The entire town was out searching for them for weeks to no avail. We never found Posy or Rue or any of the other missing girls.

"I'll be careful." We walk in silence for miles until we reach the street where Peeta's house is located. "You have to believe me, Gale. It's not him. You and I are skilled hunters. We know what a predator looks like, and Peeta is no predator."

His face becomes an unreadable mask when we reach the house. "I want to believe you, Katniss. I really do. It's just hard to trust him when nobody could prove or disprove that he started the fire." He gives me one final pat on the head before walking off toward the woods.

I approach Peeta's house with a heavy heart. If only I could prove to the world that he is a good man and not a monster. If only people could look past his scars and see the sweet person underneath, the person who gave me one of his paintings and made me food and was more concerned about my wellbeing than his own.

There is a note on his door with one sentence written in red ink across the paper: Get out of our town, fire mutt. I quickly tear it from the door and crumple it in my hands, disgusted by whomever wrote such a mean-spirited message.

The door opens before I even get the chance to knock on it. "You really came back to see me." His voice is laced with happiness and disbelief. "I was sure that either my face or your friend's accusations would scare you away."

"Nothing could ever scare me away, Peeta. I'm tougher than most of the people in town." I don't hesitate to enter his house and drop my heavy backpack on the couch. "I plan on spending the day here if that's okay with you."

His answer comes in the form of an impossibly sweet smile. "That's fine with me. If you stay after dark, please let me walk you home. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you." Of course he knows about the disappearances. Everyone in town accuses him of committing the crimes.

"What do you want to do first?" I dump the contents of my backpack onto the floor in front of the couch. "I brought games, movies, and my computer. Thought it might be nice for you to have some fun."

He looks through the movies scattered at his feet. "I'm already having fun, Katniss." He sets two DVDs aside for later and returns his attention to me. "Before we get started with all this stuff, I'd like to know a little bit more about you."

"I'm not good at talking about myself," I tell him honestly.

"Then let me start." He is silent for a long time, possibly thinking of where to begin. Making friends has never been easy for me because I've never bothered to learn much about other people, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious about his life. "You already know that I'm a painter and a baker. My favorite color is orange. I enjoy watching and painting the sunset. I had two older brothers, Rye and Wheatley, and the three of us used to work in our family's bakery. Now it's your turn."

I take a deep breath to calm my nerves before telling him all about myself. "You already know that I'm a hunter. My favorite color is green. I enjoy being out in the forest, in nature. I have a little sister named Prim who wants to meet you."

"Your sister wants to meet me?" he asks with the hint of a smile on his face. "She isn't afraid of me?"

"She was," I admit softly. "Then I told her how nice you were to me. I have a feeling that you two will get along really well."

"Can't wait to meet her." He scoots the game Twister toward me and raises an eyebrow, as if silently asking me to play it with him. Before I can protest, Peeta opens the box and removes the game mat and spinner from it, spreading the mat across his empty living room floor. "Please? I used to play this game with my brothers all the time."

How can I deny him anything when he asks me with that sweet voice of his? "Alright, fine. But you better be prepared to lose." I spin the spinner and call out what it lands on. "Right hand blue." Peeta beats me to the circle I was going for and forces me to take the one next to it. "You can spin it next."

He reaches over me to spin it with his free hand. "Left foot green."

After a few more spins I somehow end up underneath him. His whole body is trembling as he tries to hold himself up in such an awkward position. "I can't move," I tell him urgently, afraid I might fall any second.

"Me either," he says with a grunt of pain. "I'm going to fall on you. I don't want to fall on you."

His body crashing down on top of mine is the least of my worries right now. I'm going to lose the game. I never lose this game. "Can you reach the spinner?" He nods, and I sigh in relief. "Good. Let's wrap this up before you squash me."

"I take it you hate to lose." His foot slips the moment he tries to reach for it and he lands on my back, flattening me against the mat. "I'm so sorry, Katniss! I hope I didn't hurt you." He arches his body up to avoid crushing me while I scramble to get out from under him. "Call it a draw?"

The goofy smile on my face and the laughter that follows assures him that I'm alright. Even when he slipped he managed to keep most of his body weight off me. I was never in any real danger of being squashed by him. "I'm fine. Best two out of three?"

"You're on!" We play three more games of Twister, two of which Peeta wins. I declare him the winner before we decide to play a different game. He finds a worn-out deck of cards among the various items I brought with me to his house. "Strip poker?"

My face turns a brilliant shade of red. "No way! That's not something I would do with my closest friends, let alone someone I just met."

His hand shoots up to cover his mouth as he laughs wholeheartedly at me. "Relax, Katniss. I was only kidding." When my shoulders refuse to stop shaking nervously, Peeta gets up to grab a blanket and wraps it around my body. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"No, it's okay." I snuggle into the warm blanket and take in the scent of him. Somehow it comforts me to know that this is his blanket. "I'm just…"

"Pure?" he guesses. "That's okay with me. I like you just the way you are."

Our eyes lock for a split-second before I look away, embarrassed. "Can I touch them? The scars, I mean." He nods in consent and I trail my fingers from his brow to his chin, not at all surprised or disgusted by the strange texture of his skin. It almost feels like leather. He catches my hand when it lingers on his cheek and holds it there, enjoying the feeling of my touch. "You're so warm," I say absently, stroking his cheek.

"Like a fire mutt?" Peeta asks dejectedly.

I continue to rub his cheek with my thumb while I cover us both with the blanket. "Like a human being." He relaxes into my touch and mutters something about how good it feels. I'm glad I can make him so comfortable. "How about a movie?"

We curl up on the couch and watch three movies on my laptop. I sneak a glance at him every now and then to see the cheerful smile on his face, the happiness shining in his eyes. He seems to be focused more on me than on the movie. I wonder what he is thinking about. "Katniss?" he asks when we are halfway through the third movie. "Do you like spending time with me?"

"Yes," I reply immediately. There is something about him that makes me feel comfortable, safe. The walls I so carefully built over the years come crumbling down when I'm with Peeta because I know he won't hurt me. It's easy to trust him because he wears his heart on his sleeve. He doesn't hide the way he feels like Gale does or keep to himself like Madge does. He is the first friend I've had where I don't have to worry about what his true intentions are.

His fingers play with my braided hair. "I like spending time with you, too." How on Earth can anyone think this sweet man is a monster? I rest my head on his shoulder until the movie is over. Peeta gets up while I am putting the DVD back in its case and returns with a dozen cheese buns. "I made these before you came over this morning. This is the first time in a long time that I've actually baked anything. If they're no good, I can make you something else to eat."

"Cheese buns are my favorite." He watches as I eat several of his delicious creations. "My father used to buy big packs of cheese buns from your family's bakery when my sister and I were small. These taste the same as I remember them. Delicious."

After we eat our fill, Peeta teaches me how to play chess. He always wins because I'm not very good at it, but I love the way his eyes light up when we do something together. I turn the chess board around when he isn't looking and pretend that I was always playing with the white pieces. "That's cheating," he says with a laugh.

"It's not cheating if you can't prove that the white pieces were yours." I frown when his uncontrollable laughter fills the room. "What's so funny?"

"You." He helps me pack up the chess board, Twister mat, and all the movies that are piled up on the floor. "It's getting late. You should probably go home before your sister starts to worry about you." He glances out the window to see that it is completely dark outside. "May I walk you home?"

I take his hand as we exit the house. "Something tells me that you won't take no for an answer."

The streets are completely vacant at this time of night. People hide in their homes when the sun goes down, fearing that they will be the next ones to disappear without a trace. I have never been afraid of the darkness because I don't believe in monsters. I don't believe in the imaginary beasts that stalk us from the shadows. True monsters dwell within the hearts of men. True monsters aren't recognized by their appearance but by the cruelty and hatred they feel deep inside. This is why Peeta is not a monster in any sense of the word.

When we reach my house, Peeta gives me a soft kiss on the hand. "Thank you for today. Thank you for being my friend." I pull him into a farewell hug, then retreat into the safety of my home.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning I find Peeta on my doorstep when I'm leaving the house to walk Prim to school. He looks extremely nervous to be outside in broad daylight, and I'm worried that he might pass out on the spot if he doesn't relax soon. Prim greets him with a friendly smile. "It's nice to finally meet you, Peeta." She holds out her hand and he takes it, the nervousness melting away instantly. "I'm Katniss' sister, Prim. She has told me _all_ about you."

Peeta laughs at her comment. "Everyone in town has something to say about me. Katniss is just the first person to say something nice." I shoot them both a glare as they bust up laughing. Somehow I knew they would get along well.

"What brings you to our home?" She asks cheerfully. It's not at all surprising that my sister is warming up to the man everyone else fears. She is a good judge of character, and Peeta doesn't come across as a deceitful person.

He bows his head to hide his blush. "I wanted to make sure your sister was alright." My face scrunches up in confusion. Why wouldn't I be alright? He glances up at me shyly, as if deciding whether or not to explain. "I had my windows open to air out the house when I overheard Cato and Marvel talking about how they were going to hurt you."

Cato and Marvel have taken matters involving the town's security into their own hands after their friend, Glimmer, disappeared. They act more like big bullies than anything else. "Why would they want to hurt me?" The answer comes to me before he has a chance to respond. "It's because I'm your friend."

"I never meant to put you in any danger," he says softly. Honestly, how can Peeta think this is his fault? Those two have been waiting for a chance to pick a fight with me ever since I stood up to them in high school.

Prim gives him a comforting pat on the back. "You haven't done anything wrong. Cato and Marvel used to pick on my sister when they were younger. Nothing much has changed since then." She glances at her phone and gasps. "Come on, we have to get going. School starts in ten minutes."

As we make are way toward her school, I'm aware of Gale glaring at me from his front lawn. I ignore him, the stares of pedestrians on the streets, and everyone else who tries to darken our day with mistrust and hatred. Peeta keeps his gaze glued to the ground as he chats with us about the weather and our favorite movies.

When we reach the school building, Prim gives us both a goodbye hug. "I'll see you guys later. It was really nice meeting you, Peeta. You're a kind person, and I look forward to getting to know you better. Bye!" She rushes to catch up with Rory and the two disappear into their classroom.

There is a goofy grin on Peeta's face as we head toward the town square. "Your sister is adorable." I have to agree with him on that. Everyone in town loves Prim almost as much as I do. She has a way of brightening up the room with her smile, her laughter. I'm glad she was able to look beyond the rumors and see the good inside of Peeta.

"If my sister likes you, then there is no way you are a fire mutt." He finally tears his gaze from the ground to look at me, forcing me to go on. "Fire mutts are mythical creatures born from the charred remains of people who have died in fires. They are the embodiment of hatred, envy, greed. Prim wouldn't have liked you so much if you harbored such negative emotions."

"Maybe I'm not a fire mutt after all." He slows to a stop as we approach one of the many shops in town. "Wait here. I'll be right back." He vanishes into a nearby building before I can protest.

As soon as Peeta is gone, Cato appears from behind one of the shops. I scowl at him when he reaches me, his face inches from mine. "I've been waiting for this moment for a long time." He cracks his knuckles and watches my reaction with a smirk on his face. "Scared?"

"You wish." I'm about to make a run for it when Marvel comes up from behind, grabbing my arms and holding me in place. His grip on me tightens when I try to struggle. "Let me go. Now." They share a glance before erupting into a fit of laughter. I've had enough of people laughing at me for one day.

"Hurry up, Cato. I want to finish this before the fire mutt returns." Marvel casts a nervous glance toward the shop that Peeta entered. "Who knows what he will do to us if he finds out we hurt his friend." No way. Are these two _afraid_ of Peeta?

Cato gives his friend a hard stare. "Don't chicken out on me, Marvel. We're going to take care of her first, then the monster. Girls will stop disappearing once he is gone, and maybe we will find Glimmer and the other victims in his basement."

It takes me a moment to realize that they are completely serious. They seriously believe that Peeta has kidnapped all those girls and locked them away somewhere in his home. "You guys are idiots if you think he is a monster! You're the real monsters."

My words earn me a slap across the face. "Shut up, you traitor." He nods for Marvel to join in on the abuse, and suddenly I'm being attacked from both sides with no way to defend myself. "You're going to regret befriending that creature," he says as he punches my jaw.

I slam my head against Cato's, wincing as our skulls crash together. He retaliates by digging his nails into my skin, drawing blood. Marvel grabs my chin and forces my head back, giving Cato access to my neck. I see the glint of a blade as his hand moves toward me again. "You're going to _kill _me?" I shriek in disbelief. Maybe I underestimated these two.

He doesn't get a chance to respond before someone yanks him backward and grabs the knife from his hand, successfully disarming him. Marvel lets go of me and stumbles to the ground, eyes wide with fear. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Peeta sounds both horrified and angry. He positions himself in front of me, possibly anticipating another attack from Cato.

"We just wanted to stop the disappearances," Marvel says as he turns to flee the scene. Peeta glares at Cato until the other boy races after his friend, both of them disappearing into the distance.

Peeta's clenched fists are shaking with what I assume is either rage or terror. He turns around and pulls me into a tight hug, his fingers rubbing circles on my back. "I'm sorry. If I hadn't returned when I did, you would be…" He doesn't dare finish that thought. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," I assure him. "You couldn't have known that they would attack me in public." I place my hands on his trembling shoulders and hold him close to me, whispering soothing words in his ear.

"But it is my fault! I _knew_ that they wanted to hurt you. I thought warning you would be enough." He takes a step back to examine the blade he stole from Cato. "They didn't mention anything about murder."

Perhaps murdering me wasn't part of their original plan. It's possible that Cato saw a chance to end my life and took it without thinking it through. "It doesn't matter now. I'm okay. You saved me."

He shakes his head to reject the praise. "I only did what any other sane person would do." Peeta reaches into his pocket and pulls out two small ceramic deer, a doe and a buck. "Here. I saw these and thought of you." He must be referring to the fact that I'm a hunter.

I hold out my hands for him to place them in. "Thank you." The doe is lying down while the buck is standing up tall, as if trying to protect his mate from danger. I can't help smiling at how thoughtful the gift is. He found something that reminded him of me and wanted to get it for me.

Peeta rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I'm glad you like them."

"They will look great on my bookshelf," I tell him as I carefully place the deer in my jacket pocket. There's a question that has been buzzing around in my mind ever since I first met him. "Where do you get your money from?" He can't possibly have a job since he hardly ever goes outside.

"I inherited it from my parents. They were wealthy because our bakery was the only one in town, but I doubt the money will last for the rest of my life." It sounds to me like Peeta wants to immerse himself back into society, maybe get a job or rebuild the bakery, but he is unable to leave his home because of the judgmental eyes of everyone in town.

I link my arm with his and lead him toward the Hob, Panem's most famous shopping center. Merchants travel from all over to sell their goods at the Hob. He gives me a look of surprise as we enter the crowded marketplace. "It's okay," I assure him softly, giving his hand a comforting squeeze. "You don't deserve to spend your entire life locked up like some kind of vicious animal."

He moves closer to me when more and more people begin to stare at us. "Are you sure about this? Going into that empty shop was one thing, but a crowded building?" Someone shoves him into me so hard that I fall to the ground in a heap. He grabs both of my hands and helps me to my feet. "See? People hate me."

"How can they hate you?" I ask in frustration. "They don't even know you!" I grab his hand and force my way through the crowd, stopping only when we reach a row of benches. He looks from the bench to me, then takes a seat. I plop down next to him with a grunt of annoyance. "There are a lot worse things in the world than appearances. Just look at what Cato and Marvel almost did to me! Murder is fine, but the way you are isn't?" I fold my arms across my chest and glare at the onlookers with all the fury I can muster.

"People are afraid of what they don't understand. Nobody understands my scars, my pain. They think I set the fire that killed my family." His eyes are downcast, staring at something I can't see. A memory, perhaps?

I watch him chew on his lip for a few moments before resting my hand on his leg. "What happened that day?" His head snaps up to look at me, confusion apparent on his face. "I want your version of it. You didn't start the fire." It isn't a question. I know that he is innocent.

He is silent for a long time, biting his lip until it bleeds. "It was an accident, really. Wheatley left some bread in one of the ovens while he went to help Dad with the customers. There were always a lot of customers on the first of the month, after everyone got their paychecks. I was decorating cakes; Rye was making muffins; Mom was sweeping flour off the floor. That's when the oven started smoking." He pauses, tears in his eyes. "After that, everything happened so fast that I can only recall bits and pieces of it. There was a loud bang, possibly the oven exploding, then flames were dancing all around us. Dad and Wheatley rushed into the kitchen to help us, but the fire had spread so quickly that we couldn't escape. I passed out after that."

"Wait," I say angrily, my hands balling into fists. "If it was an _accident_, why does everyone blame you? Nobody is to blame for the fire. Not you, not your brother, nobody."

Peeta gives an indifferent shrug. "I don't know for sure. It's easier to blame someone for the death of friends and family than to say it was a tragic accident."


	4. Chapter 4

Peeta and I stand in front of the rubble that was once his family's bakery, our hands clasped tightly together to keep from falling to our knees. I'm just as overcome with emotion as he is at seeing the place where his family was killed. The air around here feels warm and stagnant, as if an invisible inferno still rages on before our very eyes. He trembles uncontrollably when he spots the kitchen, the very place where the fire started, and I allow him to lean on my shoulder for comfort and support. "I shouldn't have come," he whispers into my shirt. "I should have known that it would be too much for me."

I brush my fingers through his soft curls in a vain attempt to comfort him. "It was very brave of you to come here, Peeta. I wouldn't have had the strength to walk down this street, let alone stand in front of the bakery." My fingers drop down to his forehead and gently rub the burned skin there.

He takes a tentative step forward, dust settling on his shoes from the pile of rubble. "I have to say goodbye to them properly. It's the least I can do for my family." Peeta hasn't been to the bakery since the day it burned to the ground. "Goodbye, Dad. I appreciated all the times you spoke out against Mom's abuse. Thank you for being such a great father to me." He dips his head in respect for his fallen father. "Goodbye, Rye and Wheatley. I loved you two so much more than you will ever know. Thank you for being the best big brothers a guy could ask for." He pauses for a moment to pay his respects to his brothers. "Goodbye, Mom. We never saw eye to eye on anything, but I miss you just as much as Dad and my brothers. Thank you for raising me."

There are tears in my eyes by the time he is finished speaking. Peeta is such a strong person to be able to stand in front of the bakery and pay his respects to the family that was stolen from him. "I'm sure they are just as proud of you as I am. It takes a lot of courage to come back here after everything that has happened, and I respect you for wanting to say goodbye to your family."

"Why do you believe in me so much, Katniss?" he asks suddenly. "How can you see who I really am when nobody else can?" He is looking at me now, waiting for an answer that I just don't have. Anyone with eyes can see how sweet he truly is. Too bad everyone in town is blind. "You're the first person to look beyond my appearance, beyond the lies about me. I really can't thank you enough for being my friend." He tucks several strands of loose hair behind my ear and presses his forehead to mine, our lips mere centimeters apart. "What's your secret?"

Warmth pools just under my skin and leaves an obvious blush on my cheeks. "I don't care much for appearances, Peeta. Just look at me. I'm not very pretty either." He shakes his head slowly, his nose rubbing against mine. "It's true. What's really important is who someone is on the inside, not what they look like on the outside."

He leaves a soft kiss on my cheek. "You're right about appearances not being important, but I think you're very beautiful, Katniss." He stuffs his hands into his pockets, turns his gaze to the ground, and walks off down the street without giving me a chance to respond.

I take one last look at the bakery before running after him, determined to stay with him until he makes it home safely. How can I trust the citizens of Panem not to hurt him when they have already proven that they want him gone? "Wait up!" He slows down to let me catch up and the two of us head back to his home together. "Why did you kiss me?" I ask softly, my fingers pressed against the spot where his lips touched my cheek.

"Why do people kiss each other, Katniss?" He is avoiding my question by asking one of his own. I glare at him until he decides to give me a proper answer. "There's a slight possibility that I may have a crush on you." He hangs his head in shame. "I'm sorry."

He has a crush on me? Why? Not that I'm complaining. Nobody has ever taken an interest in me before, and the kiss was so sweet that I'm sure my heart melted at his touch. "Don't be sorry. I'm not mad or anything."

"It's not strange that the most hated person in Panem has a crush on you?" He glances at me to gauge my reaction, the hint of a blush on his face.

"You're not the most hated person in Panem," I argue angrily. "That would be the person who is abducting women." An idea hits me so suddenly that my head spins and I nearly lose my balance. That's it! Maybe everyone will stop treating Peeta like a monster if we can find the person responsible for the disappearances. "I have a crazy idea that will hopefully get everyone to stop bullying you and see you as a human being, as a hero. We're going to catch the person who is making our friends and neighbors disappear."

He slows to a stop, his eyes wide as he contemplates my words. "Do you think we can stop the disappearances?" I place a hand on his shoulder and give a curt nod. "If it gets too dangerous, will you promise me that you will stop investigating it? Nobody will care if I die, but you have a little sister who needs you to live."

"I'm not going to abandon you. Not now, not ever. We've been in this together from the moment I realized that the rumors about you were false." Something beyond my control has drawn me to him, something I don't quite understand. Could it be curiosity for the person that everyone regards as a fire mutt? Respect for the man who has suffered so much but refuses to hate his tormentors? Or maybe I am drawn to the kindness that radiates from deep within his tortured soul. "We'll protect each other, okay? You and I will survive by protecting each other from whatever dangers lie ahead."

The look of surprise on his face quickly changes to one of admiration. "Okay. We'll protect each other."

We end up going to my house instead and locking ourselves in my room to do some extensive research on the disappearances. I scour the internet for the names of everyone who has gone missing while Peeta collects information on where the abductions took place. Several hours of work yields little to no substantial results. So we know who vanished and where they were last seen alive, but shouldn't the police have a list of suspects by now? Shouldn't a body have turned up somewhere?

"Posy, Glimmer, Delly, Rue, Annie, Cressida, Lavinia, Cashmere." Peeta glances up at me when I finish naming off all the missing women. "Is there any connection between them? Excluding Posy and Rue who were in middle school, everyone who vanished was in their twenties. The culprit has only targeted young women between the ages of twelve and twenty-five so far."

Peeta shoves a map of Panem in my face and points to several dots on the northeast side of town. "Excluding Posy and Rue, everyone who vanished was last seen near the Hob. Posy and Rue were last seen walking home together."

I can't find a connection between the two little girls and the other victims. They were at least eight years younger than the others, were still in school, and were kidnapped on a completely different side of town. "Could there be more than one person responsible for the disappearances?"

"No. Look here." He connects Rue's home on the edge of our neighborhood to the Hob with a black sharpie. "If we consider that everyone went missing within this area," he says while circling that side of town with the sharpie, "Then we can assume that the culprit's hunting grounds is this entire area. Given the fact that most of the victims were abducted near the Hob, I think it's safe to say that the person responsible lives somewhere near the marketplace."

I study the map for a few minutes before agreeing with him. It would be hard for someone to carry another person all the way home if they didn't live near the place where they abducted their victim. "Who lives near the marketplace?"

"We should rule out families for now. It's nearly impossible for more than one person to keep a secret this big. Somebody would confess to the crime or brag about it. In other words, it's safe to assume that the culprit lives alone and works alone." Peeta takes the laptop from me and does a quick search of the people living near the marketplace, near the Hob, writing down their names as he goes along. "Our suspects are Thread, Brutus, Haymitch, Cinna, Effie, Snow, Johanna, Enobaria, Plutarch, Caesar, Darius, and Seneca. Can you eliminate any of those people?"

Three people stand out among the other suspects: Cinna, Effie, and Johanna. "Effie was my elementary school teacher. She's too kind and too frail to abduct anybody." Peeta nods and crosses her off the list. "I've known Johanna since we were kids. It can't be her. It just _can't_ be." He crosses off her name. "And Cinna designs the clothes that Prim likes to wear. He is friendly and not very strong. I doubt it's him." He crosses off Cinna's name. "Can you eliminate any of them?"

"Haymitch," he says immediately. "He was my dad's friend and spent a lot of time at the bakery when I was growing up. He's a harmless old drunk." He draws a line through Haymitch's name. "That leaves us with Thread, Brutus, Snow, Enobaria, Plutarch, Caesar, Darius, and Seneca."

"How are we going to eliminate them as suspects? We don't have the authority to start interrogating them." I close my laptop with a sigh of annoyance.

Peeta shrugs. "We'll have to follow them around until an opportunity to confront them presents itself." He folds the map and places it on top of my laptop, then stores both objects on my desk. "I'll see you tomorrow, Katniss."

"Don't go," I say suddenly, firmly. He gasps in surprise at the intensity of my voice. "You can stay the night if you want."

He chuckles softly. "I don't think your mother would be too happy about me spending the night with you."

I make my way to the closet and gather a blanket and two pillows into my arms and toss them on the floor in front of him. "I'm over eighteen. If I say you can spend the night, then you can spend the night. Besides, my mom has been working the night shift at the hospital lately. She might not even come home until morning."

"Is it a good idea for a boy to be staying in your room?" He positions the pillows on top of each other and lies down on the floor, covering himself with the blanket. "What if I decide to take advantage of you?" He sounds more concerned than serious.

"You're not supposed to warn your victim, Peeta," I say jokingly as I crawl into my bed. "And I trust you not to hurt me."

Our eyes meet for a split-second before I bury my face in the pillow, embarrassed. "You trust me," he repeats in awe. "You really trust me, Katniss? I won't ever do anything to break your trust." I turn my head to the side so I can look him. He is staring back at me with a look of wonder on his face. "And I was just kidding about taking advantage of you. I wouldn't do that to my only friend in the world."

"You're not capable of hurting anyone, Peeta. You're too nice." I reach down to take his hand in mine, our fingers fitting together perfectly. "Kindness like yours is hard to find in Panem. You forgave your neighbors, former friends, and the entire town for turning against you. You never once lashed out at them or called them out for their wrongdoings. I wouldn't have been so kind if anyone treated me the way they have treated you."

His thumb rubs soothing circles on my skin. "It's easier for me to forgive and forget than to hold a grudge against them. Life is too short to spend it hating people for their mistakes. I live with the hope that they will accept me again someday."

"They will," I assure him. "I'll make sure of it." With that said, I release his hand and snuggle deep into the warmth of my blanket, allowing myself to be whisked away to dreamland.


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's a quick update for all you lovely readers. Enjoy some much needed Everlark fluff.**

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We spend the next month or so eliminating suspects from our list. Plutarch, Caesar, and Darius have been crossed off the list, leaving us with Thread, Brutus, Snow, Enobaria, and Seneca. These five people are hard to approach because of their secretive and sometimes violent nature. Peeta asked Enobaria a question about the disappearances and was bitten in the arm with her razor sharp teeth. She is lucky I didn't attack her for hurting him. Snow gave me a drink that was laced with poison when I tried to interrogate him. I only had a few sips before I was on the ground with searing pain in my chest. Peeta had to rush me to the hospital in order to save my life. After that incident, we have been much more careful with how we go about asking them questions.

Peeta and I have spent every single day together, whether we are investigating the disappearances or just hanging out as friends. He is the sweetest person I have ever met. He bakes me special treats and brings me flowers for no other reason than he thinks I deserve them. Peeta is fond of Prim and would protect her at the cost of his own life, and she considers him the big brother she never had.

"Are you and Prim going to the carnival tonight?" Peeta asks me when we finish watching a movie together. "It's supposed to be the best one yet." The carnival comes to town once a year for an entire week, but Prim and I haven't gone to it since she was in elementary school.

I playfully slug his shoulder. "Peeta Mellark, are you asking me out on a date?" To my surprise, he nods enthusiastically and waits for me to give him a proper answer. "Isn't it kind of dangerous for us to be out at night?"

"There is no way I would ever let anything happen to you or your sister," he says sincerely. "Please? It'll be fun." His eyes are downcast and there is a perpetual blush on his face, making it very hard to say no to him.

"Okay. We can go to the carnival." I agree to it simply because it's so rare for him to want to be in such a crowded place. Usually he needs to be encouraged to go out in public, but I can tell by the smile he tries to hide that he really wants to go to the carnival.

His arms are around me in seconds, holding me close to his chest. I listen to the steady beat of his heart and wonder how anyone can be so cruel to such a kind person. "Great. I'll pick you two up at six." He is out the door and down the street before I have time to respond.

I walk from the living room to Prim's room down the hall. "Prim, we're going to the carnival with Peeta at six." I'm about to head into my room when the door opens, revealing my overly excited little sister. "Be ready to go by then, little duck."

"He's taking us to the carnival? I haven't been there in years." She pauses to look at me suspiciously, her lips pulled back in a wide grin. "You two are going on a date, aren't you?" It's times like these that I almost wish I was an only child.

"No…" Peeta wants it to be a date, but I'm not ready to sort out my feelings for him just yet. My body reacts so strangely whenever I'm around him. I often feel warm, safe, and my heart beats wildly in my chest when he smiles at me. I can't be falling for him, can I? I promised myself at a young age that I would never fall in love. Love leads to marriage, marriage leads to divorce, and I don't think I can handle losing a lover to somebody else. "It's not a date."

Prim folds her arms over her chest and pouts. "It is so a date, Katniss. You _like_ him. I bet you want to kiss him." That comment has me running into my room at full speed, slamming the door shut behind me. I don't like Peeta as anything other than a friend. I don't want to kiss him. I don't!

The next several hours involve me hiding from my sister in the safety of my room. I decide to research the symptoms I have whenever that boy is around just to prove to Prim that I don't have a crush on him. Maybe I'm just sick. Yeah, that must be it. I type my symptoms into the search bar and read the results the internet has given me. Everything points to me having feelings for Peeta. Maybe I _do_ have a crush on him. Or maybe I have some type of incurable disease that mimics the symptoms of a crush.

Frustrated with the internet, I close my laptop and head over to my closet to get dressed for the carnival. I throw on the forest green dress I wore to graduation last year and tie my unruly hair back into a braid. Hopefully I look presentable enough. When I finish putting on a pair of very uncomfortable high heels, Prim knocks on my door before opening it to let herself inside.

"I'm sorry for teasing you, Katniss, but there isn't anything wrong with liking Peeta as more than just a friend. He treats you with more respect and care than anyone else ever has, and I think it's sweet that you two have become such fast friends." She looks me up and down before sighing softly. "Don't wear those shoes. They hurt your feet."

"None of my other shoes match with this dress," I argue as I stumble out into the living room just as the doorbell rings. I swing open the door and fall forward into Peeta's arms, blushing wildly at the closeness of our bodies. "Sorry. I can't walk in these shoes."

He leads me back inside and has me sit down on the couch while he gently pulls the high heels from my feet. I notice that he is wearing a fancy dress shirt and black pants. We'll probably be the most overdressed people at the carnival, but who cares? At least we match. "Here," he says as he removes his own shoes, "wear mine. They are much more comfortable than these." As if to prove a point, Peeta tries to fit his feet into my shoes. "These are painful! How do you wear them? How does anybody wear them?"

My hand shoots up to cover my mouth as I laugh uncontrollably at the idea of him wearing high heels. "They're supposed to attract men, but I was only wearing them because they go with my dress."

"You don't want to attract men, trust me. Men are jerks." That coming from the boy who just gave me his shoes makes me smile. "What, don't believe me? It's true! I'm an exception because I'm really an alien from the planet Mars." I'm glad that he called himself an alien and not a fire mutt. It means that he is slowly starting to believe that he isn't the monster everyone says he is.

"There is something special about you, Peeta, but I never would have guessed that you were a Martian." He laughs as he helps me into his shoes. "Thank you. Do you have an extra pair of shoes to wear?"

"Nope. I'm going barefoot." Just then, Prim walks into the living room wearing a white summer dress. She barely has time to greet him before he scoops her into his arms and spins her around the room. He sets her down on the couch seconds later and smiles at us. "You both look lovely. Ready to go?"

Prim is bouncing excitedly on the couch. "Let's go already. Katniss hasn't taken me anywhere fun in a long time." I scowl at her, which only causes Peeta to laugh.

"Alright. Let's get going," he says as we walk out the door.

Bright lights, the smell of cotton candy, and the sound of laughter greet us when we enter the carnival. Prim rushes off when she spots one of her friends from school, and Peeta and I order a funnel cake to share before following after her. We chat about anything and everything while Prim goes on a few rides with her friend and then returns to my side, begging us to go on a terrifying ride with her. I stare up at the roller coaster she is pointing at with a mixture of fear and excitement. It spins around in a vertical circle, stopping at the top and allowing the riders to hang upside down for an extended amount of time.

"If I die," I tell my sister warily as we get in line for the ride, "you are not invited to my funeral."

She climbs into the seat in the very front while Peeta and I take the seat behind her. I grab his hand tightly as we wait for the ride to start. "Are you scared?" he asks me, giving my hand a light squeeze.

"No. I just don't like rides that go upside down." He wraps his arm around me when the ride starts moving, and I cling to him and try my best not to scream when we are held upside down for what seems like hours. The roller coaster goes around the tracks a few more times before slowing to a stop and allowing its passengers to get off. I'm surprised by how dizzy I feel when I try to climb out of the seat. Peeta gathers me into her arms and carries me away from the ride, setting me down on a nearby bench. "Thanks," I mutter, embarrassed.

"That was so much fun," he gasps, also dizzy from the ride. "What do you want to do now?"

We wait for Prim to catch up before going on several other terrifying rides, one of which spins us so low to the ground that I'm sure my body will be crushed if it goes any lower. Prim watches from below as Peeta and I go on a ride that takes us high into the air before dropping down so suddenly that I feel my stomach doing flips inside my body. "I'm never doing that again," I say once we are safely on the ground with my sister.

Peeta laughs wholeheartedly at the terrified look on my face. "Okay, okay. I just wanted to go on that one since I chickened out the last time my family took me here."

We decide to take a break from the rides for awhile and play some carnival games. Peeta wins me and my sister one stuffed animal each by tossing baseballs at a stack of bottles, then I win him a stuffed animal by managing to get a ping pong ball into a cup of water.

"What should we do now?" Peeta asks when it becomes clear that neither of us are interested in playing any more games. He spots the house of mirrors and practically drags me toward it. "Let's go in here."

Prim stays outside while Peeta and I go into the carnival attraction by ourselves. I'm staring at myself in a ridiculously distorted mirror when I hear Peeta's voice coming from somewhere deeper inside the house. "Does my face really look like that?" I follow the sound of his voice until I find him standing next to a mirror that only distorts the lower half of his body. "Haven't actually looked in a mirror for years. I'm not much to look at, am I?"

I step in between him and the mirror with my arms crossed. "You look just fine to me." He is about to protest when I silence him with a spur of the moment kiss on the lips. He is so shocked by the sudden kiss that it takes him a moment to respond, his lips moving ever so slowly against mine. Warmth rushes through my whole body like a wildfire, causing my skin to glow pink. I taste cinnamon and sugar on his lips before my tongue decides to slip into his mouth without my consent. His arms encircle my waist and bring me closer to him as I deepen the kiss. The kiss isn't rough, or hungry, or alludes to other things that could possibly happen afterward. No. It's soft and sweet and loving like the boy in front of me.

When we break apart, Peeta is gasping for breath. "Katniss?" He looks like he did something wrong even though I was the one who kissed him. "I'm really sorry about that, Katniss. Your sister told me that you've never kissed anybody before, and it wasn't right of me to steal your first kiss."

"I kissed you," I argue with an edge of annoyance. He relaxes a little when I assure him that he has done nothing wrong. "And I would like to do it again sometime."

He takes the hint almost immediately. "O-oh! Would you maybe like to be my girlfriend, Katniss?"

It was only a few hours ago that I refused to believe I had a crush on him, that I had feelings for him. But after everything we've been through over the last month, after the heartwarming kiss I just shared with him, I think it's safe to say that I'm falling for him hard. I can either deny these feelings or allow myself to experience them with the sweetest boy in Panem. "Of course, Peeta."

"Really?" He covers my lips with his and kisses me gently on the mouth. "You won't regret this, Katniss. I won't ever break your heart, I promise."


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm really glad that you guys are enjoying the story. I'll try to keep my updates as quick as possible. :D**

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Prim is waiting for us outside with an impatient look on her face. "You guys were in there for a _long_ time." She notices our hands clasped together, the flushed look on our faces and changes the subject. "We should get some cotton candy," she says. He pats her head affectionately and agrees to buy us some sweets. Prim leads us to a concession stand and orders the largest bag of cotton candy they have, leaving Peeta to wonder how she can eat all of it without getting sick.

I'm about to suggest we go to one of the souvenir shops when I spot Seneca Crane in the crowd. What the heck is he doing here? Not wanting him to get away, I nudge Peeta's arm and point in the direction of one of our suspects. "Prim," he says nervously. "Why don't you go have some fun with your school friend?"

She glances around to see a group of her classmates heading toward the Ferris Wheel. "Okay. Have fun, you two," she says mischievously before trotting off to join her friends. I watch her warily until she is safely with the group of girls.

"This is as good a time as any to confront him," I mutter as we slowly make our way toward the stand he is running. Seneca is a well-known photographer in Panem. His dark, somewhat disturbing photos of graveyards, tombstones, and suicide victims are strangely popular around town. I stop in front of a coffin and look up at Peeta, who appears to be just as creeped out as I am. "This can't be real."

He lifts the lid and shudders, his hands trembling with fear. "It's real." We stare at it wide-eyed until the reality of the situation hits us. Seneca Crane has a real coffin in the middle of a carnival. A _real_ coffin. What does he plan to do with it, murder somebody and hide the body inside?

"Welcome to my photo booth," a sinister voice says from the shadows, starting us. Peeta instinctively places an arm in front of me to protect me from the approaching threat. As Seneca steps into the light, I notice that his eyes are hidden behind a pair of black sunglasses and his hair is covered by a top hat. He looks more like a magician than a photographer. "Take a picture inside this coffin to find out what you will look like when you die."

Peeta finds his voice before I find mine. "No, thank you. We actually have a few questions for you, Mr. Crane. I'm Peeta. This is Katniss. We—" he doesn't get a chance to finish before Seneca prods him with a black cane. The man circles us like a vulture looking for roadkill, and I get an uneasy feeling in my stomach when he stops to stare at me. "Um, can we help you with something, sir?"

"The girl," he says suddenly, vaguely. Peeta and I exchange a confused glance. "You," he says, jabbing me in the gut with the cane. I angrily swat the object away from me, growing more and more furious by the second. "Give me the girl and I will answer any questions you may have."

"What?" A mixture of confusion, anger, and disbelief fights for dominance on his face. "I can't _give_ her to you like she's some kind of _object_!" Seneca is taken aback by the anger in Peeta's tone. "She's a person, a close friend, my _girlfriend._ Don't you ever say something so disrespectful to her again."

Seneca seems like the type of person who always gets what he wants. Has anyone ever said no to him before? "Fine. Keep her. She's a little too scrawny for my taste." This guy is a freak. He doesn't appear to be physically strong, but he has a strange obsession with women. Could he be the person responsible for the disappearances?

Peeta catches on to what I am thinking in an instant. "What type of women _do_ you like?" Perhaps his description will match some of the victims. "Hair color, eye color, age, height?"

"Hair and eye color are irrelevant. I like women about her age, about her height, clever, strong, willing to do anything I say." Surprisingly, his description does match some of the women who were abducted. Glimmer, Annie, and Delly were about my age, height, and would have done whatever he said. Posy and Rue were clever but don't share any other characteristics similar to the ones he listed. What about Cashmere, Lavinia, Cressida? Maybe they were exceptions.

To my surprise, Peeta takes his interrogation to a whole new level by asking a question that is both necessary and disturbing to think about. Perhaps he believes that Seneca is guilty of abducting the town's women. "And what do you do to them once you get your hands on them?"

The next thing that comes out of Seneca's mouth makes me wonder if he is joking or being serious. "We play a little game to determine who is more dominant, me or them. If I win, the poor girl has to share a bed with me for the rest of her life. If she wins, the poor girl is never heard from again." He sees the terrified expressions on our faces and smiles. "Just kidding." The words are barely out of his mouth before Peeta and I spin on our heels and run far away from the creepy photographer. "Come again soon!" he shouts after us.

"He is either the culprit or the most deranged person in Panem," Peeta says once we are a safe distance away. He wraps his arms around me and rests his head on my shoulder, his lips brushing my neck. I will never get used to how good it feels to be kisses by him. "He is now on the top of my list." I agree that there is definitely something off about that man, something sinister.

"Let's shake off the feeling of dread with some fun." I lead him toward a roller coaster that spins forward and then backward at a frightening pace. "Five dollars says that you can't ride this without screaming."

Peeta laughs as we climb into the ride. "You're on!"

It turns out that he can ride the roller coaster without scream. I hand over the cash before we head to our next ride. After several more bets and several more losses, Peeta and I decide to take a break and find Prim among the crowd of people. I have no idea where she is, but she will be safe as long as she stays with her friends. She wouldn't leave them to go off on her own. Prim isn't stupid. We find her and two other girls her age watching a clown make balloon animals for the crowd. She thanks him profusely when he gives her what looks like a dog.

"Look what I got." She holds up the blue balloon that somewhat resembles a dog for us to see. "Isn't he adorable?" She gently places it in her bag beside the stuffed animal that Peeta won for her earlier. "Where are we going now?"

Peeta points to a ridiculously humongous slide with many different lanes for people to go down simultaneously. "We can't leave without going on that." Prim gives a nervous nod. "Don't worry. Katniss and I will be going down with you."

The three of us walk over to the ride, grab a mat to slide down on, and then climb up the stairs to the top of the ride. Prim sets her mat down in the middle lane, her hands shaking as she sits on top of it. Peeta and I flank her on either side, both of us smiling encouragingly at her. She pushes herself forward and is traveling down the massive slide before either of us can blink. We follow her quickly, both of us reaching the half-way mark just as she makes it to the bottom. As soon as she is off the ride, all power to the carnival shuts off. The lack of light causes Peeta to spin wildly out of control and fall off his mat, tumbling to the ground in a heap. My mat hits the ground so hard that I am sent flying into the metal gate that surrounds the ride.

"What happened?" I manage to ask when I untangle myself from the bars of the gate. My back hurts so badly that I am having trouble standing up. Prim rushes to my side and helps me to my feet, a look of terror on her face. I assure her that everything will be okay before setting off to find Peeta. "Peeta?"

I hear movement coming from my left and hurry over to the boy's side. "Katniss?" He takes the hand I offer him and gets to his feet, dazed. "Did the power go out?" We grab our stuff and hurry away from the ride to figure out what happened to the carnival.

People are running around in a panic, a chorus of frightened screams filling the air like birdsong, loud and obnoxious and insistent. The power going out is no excuse for people to shove their friends and neighbors out of the way in order to get out of here before anyone else. It's not like there is on fire or anything. Aside from it being dark, the carnival seems safe and normal like it had been only moments ago.

"Now is probably a good time to go home," Prim mutters, covering her ear to protect them from the eruption of sounds around us. "I'm not having fun anymore."

Peeta grabs both of our hands and leads us toward the exit, swarms of people crashing into us at every turn. We barely make it there before Seneca Crane reappearance. "Oh no. Not _him_ again."

I see Gale and Rory in the crowd of people and drag Prim toward them, determined to get her to safely. "Can you take her home for me? There is something I have to do before leaving this place."

Rory is thrilled to be walking home with his best friend, but Gale gives me a look of suspicion and anger when he spots Peeta nearby. "Fine. I'll take her home with us. Come on, you two." He ushers his brother and my sister out the exit without another word, jealously plastered over his face. That's strange. Why would Gale be jealous? I'll have to worry about that after I deal with the current situation.

When I return to Peeta, Seneca is telling him something about a graveyard. What is with this guy and his sick fascination with death? "So you," Peeta says quietly, nervously, "you took her to the graveyard, then what?"

"She rejected my advances, so I buried her alive." He tilts his head to the sky and starts laughing, a sound that sends shivers down my spine. What the heck are they talking about? "Just kidding, of course. If I really did commit such a heinous crime, why would I tell you about it? I just wanted to have a good laugh."

"What's your connection to Snow?" I ask, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I can stop him. "I know that you two were close before you had a falling out a few years ago. Were you friends, business partners, relatives?" It's impossible to search Seneca Crane's name on the internet without seeing something about him and Snow together. The articles I find are always too vague for me to understand the true nature of their relationship.

He grabs ahold of the dolly that his coffin is strapped to and begins walking away. "We used to run a law firm together. That was until he was accused of murder." He is gone before we can ask him anymore questions.

"Accused of murder?" I repeat as I watch him walk away.

Peeta places a hand on my shoulder and guides me away from the carnival. "Is it really that surprising since he tried to poison you not too long ago?" Peeta is right. I know he is right, but the thought of someone trying to kill me for no apparent reason is terrifying.

When we get back to my house, Prim calls to tell me that she will be staying the night with Rory and his family. I call my mom's work number to inform her that Prim won't be coming home tonight. "I guess I'll see her in the morning." There is a long pause before she speaks again. "What about you, Katniss? Will you be alright staying home alone?"

"I was hoping Peeta could stay the night with me," I tell her in a whisper, stealing a glance at my boyfriend.

She lets out a long sigh. "Fine. He can stay the night." My mom has met Peeta before and taken a liking to him immediately. Being a doctor, she has seen a lot worse than his burned face and wasn't frightened or disgusted by him. "As long as you live under my roof, try not to get pregnant."

"Mom!" I shout into the phone, embarrassed and annoyed that she would even suggest such a thing. She tells me to be safe before I hang up and toss my phone onto the table, my face red with embarrassment.

Peeta's snickering earns him a death glare. "Your mother doesn't trust me," he says, sorrow souring his previously cheerful mood. "How can she think we would do something like that when we only started dating two hours ago?" He seems to realize that my mom doesn't even know we're dating. "Oh my god, I am _not_ that kind of person!"

"What kind of person are you?" I asks as we head toward my room, our fingers entwined tightly together.

He grabs the spare blanket and pillow from the closet and spreads them out across my floor. "Not the kind of person who sleeps with someone he isn't absolutely sure he loves. She has to love me back, too."

His confession surprises me a little. So Peeta wants love more than anything else in the world. "That's so sweet," I say before clamping my hand over my mouth, blushing. He pats the spot beside his makeshift bed and I lie down with him, his arms encircling me gently. "It really is, Peeta."

"I just don't want it to be meaningless, you know? I don't want to wake up with a heart full of regrets." He covers us with the blanket, his arm serving as my pillow. He kisses my cheek, my jaw, then finally my lips. "I will wait forever to find that one person I want to spend my life with. After being hated for so long, it's only natural that I want someone who will accept me for who I am inside."

My lips trail from his forehead to his neck, kissing the scar there. "I accept you, Peeta. All of you."


	7. Chapter 7

I wake up feeling incredibly warm, safe, protected. Peeta's body is curled around mine in such a way that makes my heart flutter. His arms serve as a shield to keep the dangers of Panem away, his body a blanket to keep me warm at night. I can depend on him for anything, talk to him about anything. Not once have I felt the need to change myself for him. He wants me for who I am, just as I want him for who he is. I truly am glad I met him, glad I wasn't scared off by the ridiculous lies about him. A world without this gentle boy is one I wouldn't want to live in.

"Good morning," he says groggily, those impossibly blue eyes opening to meet mine. He sucks in a breath at our closeness, then kisses me on the lips. "I'll never get tired of doing that." His finger reaches up to touch the burned part of his lips, a look of sadness crossing his face. "You can tell me if my lips gross you out."

"They don't." The burn scars that frighten off other people only endear him to me. They are a symbol of his survival, a symbol of all he has lost. Peeta is very handsome in my eyes, scars or no scars. "None of your scars gross me out." I press my lips to his forehead and travel down to his burned eye, his burned nose, leaving kisses all over his skin. His jaw is slack, his eyes filled with wonder and adoration. "Do you have more scars? Ones I can't see."

His fingers curl around his shirt, leading me to believe that his chest was badly burned by the fire. "Do you think we would have ended up together if I hadn't been burned?"

"Of course. I think I was waiting for a person like you to show up. Someone who is kind, gentle, sweet. Someone who evens out my fiery personality perfectly." I kiss his cheek softly, noticing the way he shudders at my touch. "Would you still want me if I hadn't treated you with such kindness because you were victimized?" Peeta's personality would win him all the girls he could ever want, but I get the feeling that he doesn't want a girlfriend just to say that he has one. He wants one that he has actual feelings for.

Peeta props himself up on his elbows and looks me dead in the eye when he says, "yes. I don't like you because you were nice to me when nobody else was. I like your fiery personality, how you stand up against injustice, the way you take care of Prim because your mother is hardly around. These unfortunate circumstances have brought us together but our friendship keeps us together."

I throw my arms around him and yelp when he loses his balance and we crash to the floor in a mass of bodies, clothes, and blankets. Peeta ends up on top of me with a look on his face that suggests no ulterior motive for the awkward position other than playfulness. He leans down to nuzzle my cheek with his nose, spreading warmth throughout my body. I don't bother trying to push him away or worm my way out from under him. Peeta would never hurt me. He is about to kiss me when the doorbell rings, startling us both.

"That's weird," I murmur as we get to our feet. "Mom and Prim wouldn't ring the doorbell, and I'm not expecting anyone to come over." We exchange a nervous glance before heading to the front door. As I move to open the door, Officer Thread pushes his way inside and knocks me to the floor. I stare up at him in disbelief. Why is a police officer forcing his way into my home?

"So the rumors are true," he says as he takes in the sight of Peeta in my house. "It seems the fire mutt has found someone dumb enough to believe his lies after all." I sit on the floor in stunned silence. What does he want with Peeta? "You're coming with me, kid. I should have done this a long time ago."

The words are barely out of his mouth before I launch myself in front of Peeta in order to protect him. "What are you going to do to him?"

"Do you know how to get rid of a fire mutt, Ms. Everdeen?" I shake my head and wait for him to continue. "You drown it."

I have a strong desire to take Peeta and flee to the safety of the forest. "You're joking." The hard look on Thread's face tells me that he is completely serious. "You can't drown him. That's murder!" The two of us back up until we are cornered between the police officer and the wall. "I swear on my life that he isn't a fire mutt, that he isn't dangerous."

"You might change your mind when you hear the name of the latest victim." He takes a threatening step toward us, the gun on his belt visible for us to see. "This person was murdered, not abducted." He looks me dead in the eye before saying the deceased's name. "Cato. You two got into a confrontation about a month ago, and who stopped him and his friend from harming you? The fire mutt."

"Cato was a jerk, but I didn't kill him," Peeta says firmly, his eyes narrowed to slits. "How can you accuse me of murder when you have no evidence against me?"

Thread folds his arms behind his back and paces in front of us, his gaze never leaving Peeta's. "We do have evidence, Mr. Mellark. His body was burned to a crisp inside a metal trash can."

"That's not evidence!" I shout, lunging at the officer with my arms outstretched. Peeta hooks his arms around me, preventing me from getting to Thread. "You're just using the fact that Peeta was burned in a fire to suggest that he would do the same to someone else!" If I can somehow manage to free myself, Thread will be wishing he had never come into my house.

Thread raises his hand to silence me. "Calm down, Ms. Everdeen. We also found this near the body." He holds up the charred remains of one of Peeta's paintings, the one of his family standing in front of the bakery. "This is enough evidence to have the fire mutt drowned in the river. I suggest you say your goodbyes soon." He turns on his heel and exits the house, leaving us alone to process the information.

"I didn't kill him, Katniss. You have to believe me." Peeta turns to face me, tears in his eyes. "Anybody could have broken into my house and taken that painting. That isn't proof that I did it. I didn't—" I cut him off with a quick kiss on the lips. He looks stunned, then relieved by the kiss. "You believe me."

"Of course I believe you. Finding your painting near Cato's body isn't enough evidence to convict you of a crime." It's not until the words are out of my mouth that I realize the truth. They aren't going to give him a trail or send him to jail. They're going to _drown_ him in the river! "Let's wait for my mom to get back before figuring out what we're going to do."

While we are waiting for my mom to come home, Prim calls to tell me that she is heading to school with Rory. Peeta and I bid her farewell and hang up before she can ask about our morning. I just don't have the heart to tell her that Officer Thread wants to kill Peeta. It takes another agonizing hour of waiting before my mother finally comes home from work. She hasn't even stepped foot in the house before I bombard her with all that has happened while she was away.

She stumbles over to the couch, stunned by the information. "There's nothing we can do. Thread is the highest ranking officer in Panem. He always gets his way, and this wouldn't be the first time he has executed someone who was different."

"What do you mean, this isn't the first time? Who else has he killed?" I ask in horror.

She is silent for a long time, her lips pressed together in a thin line. "A young girl by the name of Fox. Everyone called her Foxface. She was mute. Couldn't speak a word even if she wanted to." I remember hearing about her death when I was a child. The media called it a tragic accident, but was it really an accident? According to my mother, she was murdered by Officer Thread. "She was pushed into the river by Thread himself. Never stood a chance against the swift current."

"If you don't mind me asking, how do you know all this?" Peeta questions curiously. He has a good point. How _does_ my mother know that Fox's death wasn't an accident?

"I was there. Who do you think signed the poor girl's death certificate?" She wipes the tears from her eyes and reaches for Peeta's hand, holding onto it tightly. "He wants to rid Panem of everyone who is different, which is why he wants to kill you. Cato's murder is just an excuse to justify your death."

A sudden chill runs down my spine. "Who killed Cato? And why?"

Mom shakes her head sadly. "It's a mystery so far, but I have a feeling that his death is related to the disappearances. You two were investigating the abductions, weren't you?" Peeta and I nod grimly. "Perhaps Cato's murderer wanted to frame Peeta for the murder and the disappearances."

My arms wrap around Peeta's chest and I hug him tightly, letting him know that I'm here for him. "What do we _do_? We can't just let Thread drown him!"

"I have an idea," she says quietly, her voice almost inaudible. "Remember that cabin in the forest that your father used to take you to?" She waits for me to nod before turning to Peeta. "You're going to have to fake your own death. Let Thread push you into the water. Katniss, you will wait downstream to help him out of the river once he is out of sight. Then we will hide him in your father's cabin."

Peeta looks uncertain about this plan. "You and your family could be put to death if you're caught helping me." We assure him that we are going to help him no matter what the cost may be. "Okay." He glances from me to my mother and lets out a long sigh. "I can't swim."

"That's why Katniss will be there to get you out of the water." My mother gets up and heads into the kitchen to make us some food. It's not long before the smell of burgers drifts from the kitchen to the living room, making my mouth water.

After we have an early lunch, Peeta and I spend the day together in the safety of my room. What's the point of going outside when everyone wants him killed? At least I can make him feel loved before he is put in a dangerous situation that might result in his death no matter what we do. Why does_ he_ have to die when there are worse people in the world who get to live? It's hard to accept the harsh reality that there is a man in my hometown who is killing people simply because they are different than everyone else.

Peeta leans over me and easily finds every sensitive spot on my neck with his warm lips, kissing me tenderly. "Your skin is so soft," he says in awe, his lips pressed against the base of my neck. "I'm going to miss this. Miss kissing you. Miss spending time with you."

I bring his lips back to mine and we share a sweet kiss, his fingers running up and down my back soothingly. "You're not going to die. I won't allow it."

"You won't allow it?" There is a goofy smile on his face as he captures my lips again, kissing me slowly, softly. "You do realize that they are kicking me out of town, right? How are we going to continue our investigation?"

"Doesn't matter as long as you're alive." My words earn me a ton of affection from my boyfriend. He lays me down on my bed and hovers over me, his forehead pressed against mine as he looks into my eyes lovingly. His fingers push my shirt up just enough for him to caress the skin on my side, his thumb rubbing small circles over the heated skin. I feel very relaxed until a disturbing thought pops into my head unexpectedly and I sit bolt upright, alarmed by this new idea. "Peeta, stop."

He recoils as if he has been slapped. "I'm sorry, Katniss. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"You haven't done anything wrong." I kiss his cheek to assure him that I'm alright before getting up and switching on my laptop. "I had a creepy thought about our prime suspects." He moves closer to me and wraps his arms around my waist, resting his head on my shoulder while I bring up an article about Snow. "Remember how Seneca said that Snow was accused of murder? Guess who the first officer on the scene was."

"Thread," he says immediately, his voice a hushed whisper. "Was Snow ever convicted of the crime?"

I scroll through the article until I find what I'm looking for. "Snow was accused of murdering a woman named Alma Coin, who was blackmailing Seneca Crane. Thread was the first officer at the crime scene and somehow managed to have the murder charges against Snow dropped." At the bottom of the page is a picture of the three men shaking hands, a sinister smile on Snow's face.

Peeta poses the question that I'm too afraid to ask. "Could all three of them be working together?"

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**Hello again, my lovely readers. Any thoughts on who is abducting the citizens of Panem and why? Just curious to know what you guys think is going to happen. It may not be what you expect.**


	8. Chapter 8

Peeta stands on the edge of the riverbank, his toes mere inches from the swirling water below. He is wearing nothing but his underwear in the chilly morning air, his whole body shaking from the cold and from fear. His eyes are wide, panic-stricken as he glances back at the three people standing behind him. Thread is prodding him with a large stick, pushing him closer and closer to the swift moving river. My mother is standing behind him with a sorrowful expression on her face, as if wishing she could stop the officer somehow. Seneca Crane is poised to capture the moment on film, immortalizing the day Panem is freed from the fire mutt forever.

I'm hidden behind a cloak of leaves in a nearby tree, my bow trained on the horrible men below. It's so tempting to shoot an arrow through Thread's heart for putting Peeta through such a terrifying ordeal, but I have to remain forced on the plan that is about to unfold any second now. Once he is in the water, I only have a small window of opportunity to save him before he drowns. Just the thought of him drowning is enough for me to set aside my hatred for Thread and focus on the plan. I lay my bow in the adjacent branch and prepare to spring into action.

"Goodbye, fire mutt." Thread jams the stick into Peeta's back so hard that he stumbles forward, tumbling into the water and disappearing under the waves. "Did you capture the glorious moment that we rid ourselves of the fire mutt, Seneca?" The photographer nods and shows his companion the camera. "Good."

I drop from the tree and make my way farther downstream, keeping an eye out for when Peeta resurfaces. He never does. I begin to panic when we're out of sight of the others and he still hasn't come up for air. My heart clenches painfully when I remember that he can't swim. Is it already too late? Has he drowned in the river? I'm starting to think he is dead when I see his blonde hair break the surface ahead of me, his nose barely above the water. "Peeta!"

He seems to hear me over the roar of the river because he shouts my name back at me. "Katniss!" His head vanishes beneath the waves for a few seconds before he resurfaces, coughing and wheezing. I quicken my pace until I am running ahead of him, stopping once I reach a log that juts out from the bank and into the water. Peeta's cries become full of panic and terror when he can no longer see me on the bank. "Katniss! Don't leave me!"

The log dips down as I crawl to the very edge, my body hanging over the swirling waves. "It's okay," I tell him as I reach out to grab ahold of his wrist. "I'm here." The current tries to steal him from me, tries to swallow him up and drown him, but I hold onto his wrist like a lifeline and pull him toward me until he is close enough to climb onto the log. Once he is safely on the riverbank, I wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his neck. I can feel rather than see the burn scars on his chest. "I thought I lost you."

"You'll never lose me," he says through chattering teeth. Peeta watches in confusion as I take his temperature with a thermometer my mother gave me earlier this morning. "What are you doing?"

"Seeing how low your body temperature is." 89 degrees Fahrenheit. I swallow hard as I check his pulse. It's slow, below average. "This isn't good," I say as I help him to his feet. "You have hypothermia from being in the cold water too long. Let's get you to the cabin and warm you up."

It doesn't take us long to make our way to the cabin that is hidden behind tall weeds and hanging ivy. Peeta collapses onto the floor once we are inside the cabin, his blue eyes closing and his breathing growing shallow. I look around only to realize that Mom hasn't been able to deliver any supplies just yet. How am I supposed to keep him warm until she gets here? The only thing I can think of is to share my body heat with him. But that means I'll have to… My face turns bright red at the thought of stripping down to my underwear in front of a boy.

"Katniss…" His voice startles me out of my embarrassing thoughts. "You saved me. Thank you." He stills until I can no longer see the rise and fall of his chest. I rush to his side and check for a pulse, relieved to find one. He won't last much longer if I don't warm him up somehow. My clothes are coming off before I really even know what I'm doing. _It's the only way to save his life, _I tell myself as I strip down to my underwear. Peeta's eyes shoot open when I press my half-naked body to his. "What are you doing now?"

I don't speak until I have completely covered his shivering body with my own. "Keeping you warm." I rest my head against his chest, taking comfort in the steady beat of his heart. He will be okay as soon as my mom arrives with the supplies.

It's not until I'm woken up by the smell of smoke that I realize I had fallen asleep in the first place. The last thing I remember is holding Peeta close to me in an attempt to keep his body heat from dropping any lower. I'm about to sit up when I notice a warm blanket has been draped over us and there is a fire going in the fireplace. Peeta's eyes are open, his face a ghostly pale. I check his vitals and am relieved to find that they are returning to normal. He is going to be okay.

My mother is sitting in a worn-out chair, her eyes locked on us. "Good thinking, Katniss. He never would have survived if you hadn't shared your body heat with him." She nods in approval before turning to the suitcases in a corner of the room. "I brought spare clothes, blankets, pillows, food, fresh water, and some art supplies in case you get bored."

"Thank you," he mutters gratefully, his hand rubbing circles on my back. "I really appreciate all you and your family have done for me. Is there anything I can do to repay the favor?"

"Think nothing of it, dear." I think my mother feels guilty about all the awful things that have happened to Peeta ever since he lost his family. She could have defended him, could have said he was just a burn victim, but Mom let the entire town to believe he was a fire mutt instead of a human being. As if reading my mind, Mom apologizes to the shivering boy below me. "I'm so sorry, Peeta. For everything. I treated your burns when the firefighters pulled you from the fire. I was there when the nurses started talking about a fire mutt possessing your body. I did nothing to stop the rumors that circled around the hospital, but you have to believe me when I say that I never imagined people would react so violently to the rumors."

He slowly sits up and leans against the wall, his arms wrapped around my waist. "It's okay, Mrs. Everdeen. People gossip about anything and everything nowadays, and it certainly isn't your job to silence these false rumors. The truth is, people would have continued to talk about me even if you had said something in my defense. I don't blame you for anything, and you shouldn't blame yourself for things that are beyond your control." Peeta has once again proved he has nothing but goodness in his heart. I would have been angry at my mother, would have hated her, but Peeta forgave her without a second thought.

She slowly gets to her feet and walks over to us, kneeling down to ruffle his hair affectionately. "Thank you for being such a good friend to my daughters. Katniss doesn't make friends easily, and Prim has always wanted a big brother. You are always welcome at our home, Peeta." With that said, she gives us a goodbye hug and exits the cabin without another word.

Peeta and I sit in silence for a long time, just enjoying each other's company. He doesn't seem to mind that the entire town is most likely celebrating his death. All that matters to him is that I am here with him. "Katniss," he says after what seems like hours of silence. I place a kiss on his burned cheek before looking into his crystal-clear blue eyes. "If I have to stay here for the rest of my life, will you visit me often?

"You're not going to stay here for the rest of your life," I assure him, running my hands down his scarred chest. "We're going to catch the person or people responsible for the disappearances, then I'm going to reintroduce you into society. They will have to accept you because you saved the town from a madman."

His lips find mine for an extremely gently kiss. I'm amazed at how Peeta can pour so much love into his kisses, how he can kiss me without staking claim on me. He wants to love me, not own me. "You really think they will accept me?"

"Not at first," I admit, running my fingers through his damp curls. "It will take time for them to realize just how wonderful you are." The smile that appears on his lips shines brighter than the sun itself, lighting up his face like a newborn star. "You will have plenty of friends in no time, maybe even a new girlfriend…"

Peeta presses his forehead to mine and kisses me passionately. "There were a lot of girls who liked me before the fire, but I was never interested in any of them. My brothers used to tease me about how I would end up alone if I didn't find a girl soon, but I was waiting for the right person to come into my life and change my world. Katniss, you are that person."

"How have I changed your world?" I ask dumbfounded. He can't be serious, can he? Surly there is a prettier, smarter girl out there that he will fall for in an instant. "I'm not special."

"But you are, Katniss. You are very special." His fingertips trail down my face, leaving pools of warmth in their wake. I wonder if he knows how good that feels. He must know because he is smiling. "You are the only person I trust not to abandon me, no matter what the townspeople say or do to me. Do you know what my old friends did when they heard the rumors? They turned against me, attacked me, left me alone in the world. Some friends they were. But not you. You have stayed by me through it all, through every judgmental glance and every aggressive attack. You didn't even leave when Cato tried to kill you. You are a true friend." He finds the sensitive spot on my neck and rubs it with his thumb. "As for how you've changed my world, isn't it obvious? You gave me back the hope that I had lost years ago. I would have taken my own life eventually if not for you. You showed me that I am not alone, that life is worth living. Anyone else would have left long ago because being around me is dangerous, because people would hate them as much as they hate me. But you stayed. Nobody else would have stayed."

Before I can respond, Peeta places all the blankets and pillows on the floor and lays me down on top of them, his lips finding a home on my belly. We're still half-naked from earlier, but I don't feel the least bit self-conscious around him. I know I'm not pretty, but Peeta isn't concerned with appearances. His eyes never leave mine as he slowly kisses his way around my exposed skin. "Tell me if you feel uncomfortable."

"I don't," I gasp out as he kisses my throat. I would be concerned about where this might lead if Peeta wasn't so kind. He knows that we're not ready to take our relationship to the next level just yet. I can tell by the way he avoids certain areas on my body that he is only interested in kissing me. I lean up to kiss his chest, covering a few burn scars with my lips. He presses his face into my hair, murmuring something I can't understand. "I'm sorry," I say, embarrassed. "I'm not very good at this."

His whole body shakes with laughter at my words. "You're great, Katniss. Just keep kissing me. I'm not very experienced either. Never had a girlfriend before." He brings his face to mine and nuzzles my cheek with his nose. "I do like the softness of your skin. It's the exact opposite of mine. You don't have to kiss my scars, you know."

I roll my eyes before switching our positions so that I'm now on top of him. "I happen to like your scars, Peeta." I lean down to kiss every inch of his chest and burned face to prove to him that his scars don't matter to me. They are unique to him, and I like them just as much as I like him. There are tears in his eyes by the time I am done showering him with affection. "I like all of you."

He sniffles softly and wipes the tears from his eyes, a goofy grin on his face. "And I like all of you."

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**Just curious, do you guys like my fast updates? I just post chapters whenever I finish them. This story is so much fun to write.**


	9. Chapter 9

Every day I go into town to gather information, then return to the cabin to share my knowledge with Peeta. Nothing much has happened since Thread announced that the fire mutt had died. The people of Panem cheered, threw parties in celebration, and burned Peeta's home to the ground. I managed to save most of his paintings from the fire and brought them to the cabin, where he hung them up on the previously dull walls. He even made a space on the nightstand for the fish I won him at the carnival. This place is starting to look and feel much more like a home now that he has moved into it.

As I walk through the door after an early morning hunt, Peeta greets me with a passionate kiss that has my entire body begging, screaming for more. I drop my game bag as he leads me toward the bed and lays me down on it without breaking the kiss. "I missed you," he says, dipping his head down to suck on my neck. "So much." My hands tangle in his hair as I wait for him to stop so I can think clearly. But he doesn't stop. He continues sucking and kissing and nuzzling me until all I can think about is how good it feels to be loved by him.

"Peeta," I whine as the onslaught of affection turns my brain to mush. There is something I needed to tell him, something important. I try to focus on what it is but his lips make it impossible to think straight. Eventually I give in to the affection and let him tire himself out.

"Sorry," he pants, giving me one last kiss. "I got a little carried away." He brushes his thumb across my lips, smiling when I kiss his finger. "I like the way your body responds to my touch. I want to make you feel good, and your reactions let me know that I'm doing something right."

I can't help smiling at those sweet words before remembering that I have something important to tell him. "I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?" I'm not surprised when he chooses the good news. "There have been no more disappearances or murders since you 'drowned' in the river."

"Blame me if they wish, I just want the girls of Panem to stop vanishing into the night," he says softly. "Why is it always women? What is being _done_ to them?" He wraps his arms around me and holds me close as his whole body shudders at the uncertainty of the missing girls' fate. "I hope they aren't in pain."

It's never really crossed my mind that the person responsible for the abductions could be doing something much worse than killing the girls. Are they being tortured? The thought sickens me enough to hope that they are dead. "All the more reason to find out what happened to them."

His fingers slip under my shirt and rub my lower back loving, his lips traveling all over the exposed skin on my neck and face. "If something ever happens to you, I promise that I will find you in a heartbeat. I will never let anyone hurt you as long as I'm alive to protect you."

"And I will never let anyone hurt you as long as I have an arrow to shoot through their heart." He laughs before covering me in his warmth, kissing all my worries away. "Stop it, Peeta. You haven't heard the bad news yet." I wait until I have his undivided attention to tell him what I have found out. "Officer Thread is looking for your body."

All the color drains from Peeta's face until he is as pale as a ghost. "My body," he repeats. "He won't ever find my body because I'm not dead." A look of horror crosses his face. "What do you think he will do to me when he finds out that I'm alive?"

"Nothing," I assure him as I reach up to caress his cheeks. "He doesn't have to find a body to believe you're dead. For all he knows, the river could have washed your body so far away that it will never be found again."

Peeta relaxes for a few moments before his muscles tense up again, his arms trembling as he continues to rub my back. "If he is looking for my body, does that mean he is in the forest?" I nod gravely. "What if he finds the cabin, finds _me_?"

"Then we will retreat deeper into the forest. I know this place like the back of my hand, Peeta. There are plenty of places for you to hide." I wiggle out from under him and tumble off the bed, retrieving my game bag and handing it to him. "I brought you some squirrel meat."

The mention of squirrel meat cheers him up enough to make us something to eat. I plop down in front of the window to keep watch for Thread or anyone else who wants to harm us. The cabin is well hidden behind overgrown weeds and tangles of ivy, making it almost impossible to see from a distance. I take comfort in the fact that only a handful of people know of its existence, most of them being my family members and Peeta.

Peeta. My heart swells with emotion at the thought of him. Somehow he has made my life a whole lot better just by being in it. There are few people I can even call friends, fewer people still that I can fully open up to. He doesn't judge me, doesn't talk down to me, doesn't treat me like I'm some kind of outcast. And I don't do those things to him. Maybe this is what true friendship is supposed to be like. Maybe this is what _love_ is supposed to be like. I'm sure we both would have lived a life of solitude had we not found each other.

The smell of freshly cooked meat interrupts my thoughts. Peeta places a plate of squirrel meat, mixed vegetables, and cheese buns in front of me. "Eat up." I thank him for the meal before devouring it hungrily. A comfortable silence falls between us as we finish eating the food he has prepared for us.

After breakfast, Peeta cleans up the house while I scout around the immediate area for any trace of our enemies. I find some human footprints a few miles north of the cabin that lead to an uneven patch of grass. _That's strange, _I think as I bend down to examine it. Underneath the grass and dirt is an old wooden door with a lock on it. I tug on the lock to no avail. The door won't open without a key. I return to the cabin to report my findings to Peeta, who seems to think the door might lead to an underground bunker. We grab a variety of tools and head back to the strange door with the intention of opening it.

"What do you think is inside?" I ask while Peeta tries to force the lock open with a hammer. The lock looks like it's about to break any second now, and I'm a little nervous to find out what's inside. It's strange to think that I've been wandering around these woods my whole life and never once noticed this door before. Then again, I was never_ looking_ for a door when I would come out her with my father or with Gale.

"No idea," he says as he takes one final swing at the lock, breaking it in half. "Want to find out?" I answer his question by swinging open the door and taking a cautious step inside. The stairs leading down to who knows where are rickety and creak every time I take a step. Peeta switches on the flashlight we brought with us before following me inside, closing the door behind him. "It smells like mold down here."

I crinkle my nose at the disgusting smell and continue walking down the stairs until I have reached the bottom. Something snaps under my feet. "Shine the flashlight on the ground." He obeys my command and points the light at the ground, gasping when he sees what I've stepped on. I steal my courage and glance down to see a broken bone. A broken _human_ bone. I think I'm going to be sick. "Could this have belonged to one of the victims?"

Peeta shines the flashlight around the bunker until he finds more human remains. "It's impossible to tell who these came from or how long they have been down here. This bunker was most likely built a long time ago, during one of the World Wars. These bones could belong to anybody."

There is a diary hidden under a pile of newspapers that has Seneca Crane's name on it. I flip through the pages and begin reading random entries out loud. "December 22nd. The grave I visited today belongs to my darling little sister who passed away when she was twelve years old. I remember that tragic night as if it were yesterday. The flash of the car's headlights as the driver ran the red light. The screech of breaks as he tried to stop. The sickening thud as the car slamming into my sister. The two of us had obeyed all the traffic laws, waited for our turn to cross the street, and still she was killed by a car."

"Maybe that explains why Seneca is so obsessed with death," Peeta suggests as he places a hand on my shoulder, the light from the flashlight illuminating the pages. "Does it say anything else?"

I turn the page and read the next diary entry. "December 23rd. Coriolanus Snow gave me the brilliant idea of replacing my dear sister with someone else in her age group. It shouldn't be too hard to find a twelve year old girl now that the middle school is out for winter break. I just need one who looks like her, one who will learn to behave like her." I swallow hard as I look up at Peeta, my heart beating a frantic pace. "December 23rd was the day before Posy and Rue went missing.

"So," Peeta says in a horrified whisper, "Seneca kidnapped the two little girls?" He takes the diary from me and reads over the entry again in disbelief. "What about the other victims?" He flips through every page, scans every word written there, then sighs in frustration. "He doesn't mention the other victims at all." He goes back to December 23rd, turns the page to December 24th, the day the girls disappeared. "December 24th. I found two perfect little sisters instead of one! They are frightened of me now, but in time they will learn to behave. In time they will learn to love me as much as my real sister did."

"We have to show this to the police," I say as I rush up the stairs, determined to get out of here as soon as possible. I stop at the top of the stairs when a horrible thought crosses my mind. "Oh no. Thread is Panem's head officer. How are we supposed to report this without him finding out?"

The door opens suddenly, causing me to stumble backward in fear. Nobody knows that we are here. Nobody but Peeta and I and the mysterious person in front of me. As my eyes adjust to the blinding light of midday, the person walks into the bunker until he is standing in front of me. I recognize him immediately as Coriolanus Snow. "I'm afraid you won't be telling anybody what you have discovered here."

Peeta drops the diary and the flashlight as he shoves his way in front of me, his arms spread out wide to protect me. "What do you want from us?"

"I want you to roll over and die," he says emotionlessly, his eyes locked on Peeta's. "You're lucky that killing isn't my style. I will alert Romulus Thread of your whereabouts and let him finish the job himself. Goodbye." He retreats out of the bunker and slams the door behind him. The sound of a lock snapping shut can be heard from outside, shattering any hope I had of getting out of here alive.

"Think we can force the door open from the inside?" I ask Peeta while I head down the stairs to retrieve the flashlight and the diary.

He backs up as far as he can go without falling down the stairs and runs at the door, slamming into it at full force. It takes him several tries to realize that the door can't be forced open. "We're trapped," he says miserably. "And we'll be dead when Thread gets here."


	10. Chapter 10

My brain has gone into survival mode ever since we were locked in the bunker an hour ago. I've been searching the place top to bottom for an exit, a secret passageway, another door, anything that will get us out of here. But I've found nothing so far. There doesn't seem to be a way out other than the locked door at the top of the stairs. We're doomed.

"Check this out," Peeta says from his spot on the floor. How he can sit there and read Seneca's diary at a time like this is beyond me. "There is a very strange entry on the last page. Listen to this." He clears his throat, then begins reading the entry aloud. "He has done it again. This is the sixth time this year that he has done something so dangerous, so _stupid_. Why he does it, I do not know. He makes me get rid of them. Why do I always have to get rid of them? He never gets his hands dirty unless there is an immediate threat. Alma Coin was a threat. That girl investigating the disappearances was a threat. Nobody else is worth his time." He looks up at me with a serious expression on his face. "It's dated a few weeks ago, after Snow tried to poison you."

Does that mean that Snow is responsible for the disappearances? But why? What use does he have for girls in their twenties? "The more we find out, the more confusing this gets. I don't know what to think anymore."

Peeta closes the book and tosses it onto the floor in disgust. "I want to know what he is doing to those poor girls! Nobody deserves to be taken from their friends and family, taken from all they know by some sick man. I won't let him get away with hurting them, with torturing them, with…" The dark thought that crosses his mind is too much for him to bare. "There are people out there who love these girls, Katniss. People that may never see them again."

I try to imagine Prim disappearing into thin air, never to be heard from again. I would dedicate the rest of my life to finding her, to finding the person who took here. Never again would I get a good night's sleep. Never again would I stop longing to see her face one last time. This must be what the victims' families are going through every day. I want to end their suffering by finding the missing girls, but what if the truth is so horrific that the families would have been better off not knowing what happened to them? What if the truth only adds to their grief?

"There's a chance that Posy and Rue are still alive," I tell him. "It doesn't sound like Seneca plans to hurt them, but I don't know what he has done to the other missing girls." If only we could turn the diary over to the authorities, then the police could start a proper investigation to find the missing girls. "What are we going to do with the diary? We can't hand it over to the police, but we can't leave it here for Seneca to come back and dispose of it."

He shrugs before picking it up and setting it on his lap, his hand resting on the cover. "We'll have to keep it with us until we know what to do with it."

This situation is so frustrating that I end up kicking a box across the floor to relieve some of the anger I'm feeling. The spot where the box once stood against the wall looks distorted, worn-out. I press my hand against the wall until I come across an opening big enough for me to fit through. "Peeta, I think I found a way out of here."

Peeta grabs the diary and gets to his feet, shining the flashlight into the tunnel. "Hopefully it doesn't lead to a dead-end." He drops to his hands and knees and squeezes his way inside just as footsteps echo from above. Thread is coming to kill us. I dive into the tunnel and crash head first into Peeta, who lurches forward and drops the flashlight, breaking the bulb inside. Darkness swallows us whole before we have a chance to process what just happened.

"I'm sorry," I say, shame washing over me like a wave. Now we have no way to tell where we are going, no way to tell if the tunnel ends up ahead.

He reaches back to pat my head affectionately. "It's okay. Let's get moving before Thread catches us."

We move quickly, urgently through the tunnel as Thread's footsteps get louder and louder until they stop all together, signaling his arrival at the bunker. He violently swings the door open, allowing it to slam against the ground before he descends upon us. It's obvious from his angry shouts that he has seen the tunnel and knows that we have escaped. He runs back up the stairs, several of them cracking under his weight, and I hold my breath as I listen to his footsteps fade into the distance. I know exactly where he is going.

"Peeta, we have to get out of here before he gets to the end of this tunnel." It's doubtful that he left the bunker unguarded. Snow or Seneca is most likely waiting for us to return while Thread waits for us at the exit to the tunnel. We're as good as dead if we can't beat him to the exit.

A groan of pain comes from up ahead of me. "Watch out. The tunnel makes a sharp turn to the right." I hold my hand out in front of me to feel for when the tunnel changes direction. When my fingers hit solid dirt, I turn right and follow Peeta as fast as I can crawl. We travel in silence for a while until he comes to an abrupt stop in from of me, causing me to once again slam into him. "It ends," he says, twisting around to touch every wall of the tunnel. "It ends right here."

"It can't end." Does this mean we're trapped? I'm beginning to wonder if we should head back when I feel a light breeze coming from above. "Do you feel that? There must be an opening around here somewhere to allow a little breeze through." I reach upward with both hands, running my fingers along the dirt ceiling until I find a path leading up. "We're going to have to climb out of here."

I squeeze my way in front of Peeta and dig my fingers into the dirt, hoisting myself up with my hands until my feet can get a firm hold on the walls. It takes several agonizing minutes for me to reach the door and crawl out of the tunnel, my muscles aching from the effort. I wait for Peeta to reach the door before taking his hand in mine and pulling him up just as Thread makes a sudden appearance.

"You," he growls, pointing at Peeta. "You're supposed to be dead." Peeta opens his mouth to respond when Thread lunges for him, tackling him to the ground. The two men wrestle for dominance for a short while before Peeta manages to free himself from Thread's grasp, dropping the diary in the process.

"Run!" he shouts as we scatter into the trees, Thread following close behind. The trees begin thinning out the farther we run into the forest, and I'm worried that we are approaching the cliff. We will be trapped again if we can't find a way to circle back and return to the cabin. Peeta slows to a stop as the cliff comes into view, his eyes wide with terror. "Now what?"

I look over the edge to the jagged rocks below. Nobody could survive a fall like that. "We have to go back."

"You're not getting away from me this time," Thread says as he corners us between himself and the cliff. "I'll kill you both for stumbling upon our secrets." He draws a gun from his belt and points it directly at Peeta's heart, his finger ready to pull the trigger any second now.

Before Thread can fire the gun, I rush forward as fast as I can and wrap my fingers around the weapon, yanking it from his hand. He is so stunned by my actions that I have enough time to toss the gun over the side of the cliff before he reacts, snaking his arms around my waist and forcing me to the ground. His hand is gripping my wrist so tightly that something within me cracks and a sharp pain shoots through my arm, causing me to thrash about in an attempt to free myself from his death grip. He squeezes my injury until I cry out in pain.

Thread's weight is suddenly removed from my body as Peeta barrels into him, knocking him away from me. "Leave her alone, Thread. It's me you want. Hurt me. Punish me. Kill me. Don't you _ever_ lay a finger on Katniss again!" He manages to restrain the officer until I can get to my feet and flee toward the trees, unsure of what to do next. Peeta tries to follow me but is stopped by a whack to the head that causes him to fall to his knees. I watch in horror as Thread kicks my boyfriend into submission.

What do I do? What _can_ I do? Glancing around, I settle for grabbing the largest stick I can find and jamming it into Thread's face, into his eye. He stumbles backward until he is standing on the edge of the cliff, the heels of his feet hanging off the edge. I charge at him, enraged by his brutal attack on Peeta. When my body slams into his, Thread tumbles off the cliff with a yelp of fear. Somehow he manages to grab ahold of my leg and drag me down with him to the jagged rocks below. I flail my arms wildly as we fall, my fingers eventually tangling themselves in a shrub growing on the cliff face, stopping my fall. Thread clings to my leg for dear life, threatening to pull me to my death.

"Let go!" I use my free leg to kick him in the face several times, his grip on me loosening until he is no longer attached to my leg. I close my eyes and turn my head away as he plummets to his death, his screams filling the air until he reaches the rocks below.

"Katniss!" I look up to see Peeta leaning over the edge, his arm outstretched for me. "Grab my hand." I reach up with my injured hand in a vain attempt to grab his, our fingers lightly brushing together. "Just a little farther." More and more of his body is hanging off the cliff as he tries desperately to reach me.

It's hopeless. Peeta is going to fall to his death trying to save me. "Forget about me," I say firmly as the shrub almost slips from my grasp. I tighten my grip on the only thing preventing me from falling and look back up at him with tears in my eyes. This is it. This is the end for me. I'll never see him again, never see my sister or my mother again. I'm going to be dead and gone in a matter of minutes. "At this rate we'll both fall!"

My words only encourage him to lean down even more, one hand reaching toward me and the other gripping something out of sight. "I'm not leaving you to die, Katniss. You're too precious to me." With a grunt, Peeta swings his arm down until his hand clasps around mine. I suppress a cry of pain as my injured wrist is tugged upward, toward him. My fingers untangle themselves from the shrub and I grab onto his arm with my other hand, allowing him to pull me back onto solid ground. Peeta's arms are around me as soon as my hands and knees are safely on the ground. "Are you okay?"

"I think so." I don't dare look down at where Thread's body lies broken, lifeless. Peeta lifts my injured wrist up to his face to examine it. His fingertips trail over the swollen skin so lightly that the touch almost feels non-existent. "What's the diagnosis, doc?" I ask in an attempt to lighten the mood.

He forces a smile as he kisses my knuckles. "It might be broken. Can't say for sure because I'm not a real doctor."

"You fraud," I joke as I yank my arm away from him, cradling the injury close to my chest. "We should head back to the cabin."

"What about him?" Peeta asks, motioning to the cliff. "Should we report his death to the police?" Normally we would report his death so that someone could collect the body, but how can we explain the situation without making ourselves look guilty? Peeta is supposed to be dead, and I'm the one who pushed Thread off the cliff in the first place.

I give him a quick kiss on the lips before turning in the direction of the cabin, ready to head home for the day. "Let Seneca or Snow find the body. They're just going to blame his death on us anyway."

* * *

**Expect the next chapter to be more light-hearted and fluffy. There needs to be some cuteness to even out the darkness of the story. :D**


	11. Chapter 11

I am forced to take it easy for the next six weeks in order to give my broken wrist time to heal. During this time, Peeta has not left my side for any reason unless he absolutely has to. Apparently he thinks my injury is his fault. He has apologized countless times for not reacting quicker to the immediate threat that Thread posed, but I don't blame him for my injury or for me almost losing my life. Peeta risked his own life to save mine. I can never repay him for his acts of bravery in the face of danger and the possibility of death. He is a hero in my eyes. End of story.

"How are you feeling today?" he asks as he hands me a cup of tea. I barely have time to take a sip of the beverage before he is placing a warm compress on my slowly healing wrist. Any pain I was feeling today evaporates the moment the compress touches my swollen skin. I let out a sigh of content before returning to the cup of tea in my hands, drinking half of it in several big gulps. He kisses my forehead affectionately, his lips lingering on my skin for a long time.

"Better," I tell him honestly, setting the cup down on the nightstand. "I was thinking of going into town today. You should come with me." His face pales and he stumbles backward, nearly tripping over the rug. I expected this reaction from him. All of Panem rejoiced when Thread told them that the fire mutt was dead, but Peeta can't live in the woods forever. He deserves to have a normal life. "You can't pretend to be dead for the rest of your life."

He considers my words for a few moments before shaking his head in defeat. "Everyone wants me to be dead. It's better this way, Katniss. Now nobody has to live in fear that I will hurt them." He turns his back to me and retreats into the bathroom, locking himself inside.

I sigh in frustration as I make my way toward the bathroom, my good hand resting on the door when I hear sniffling coming from inside. Is he crying? "Peeta?" A sudden hatred for every single person in Panem bubbles within me until I want nothing more than to live in the woods with him forever. "Who cares if nobody else likes you? I like you. Prim likes you. Even my mom likes you. You are the nicest person I have ever met, and I enjoy every second of the time we spend together."

The door cracks open just enough for me to see the less damaged side of his face. He almost looks normal when he hides his scars, but I would rather see all of his face than just half of it. I push the door open and shove my way inside until I am standing directly in front of him, his face hidden from me by his hands. "Peeta," I say gently, taking his hands in my own. My wrist hurts but I ignore the pain, focusing only on how sad he looks. "Don't you ever hide yourself from me."

He readjusts the warm compress on my wrist before glancing up to stare into my eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just," he takes a deep breath before continuing, "I'm afraid that one day you'll wake up and realize that there is a better man out there for you. A man who doesn't look so disfigured, so frightening."

"You're not disfigured or frightening," I argue firmly. "There is nobody else in all of Panem, in all the world that I would rather be with. I'm not bothered by your scars or by what other people say about you. The only thing that matters is who you are inside, and the person you are inside risked his life to save me from falling to my death."

"Of course I saved you. I didn't want you to die." He brushes a hand through his hair nervously. "I've fallen so hard for you, Katniss. This heart in my chest beats only for you." His face is flushed, his eyes downcast. "I had given up on life, on happiness until you showed up on my doorstep with the intention of getting to know me. It still seems so unreal. But you know what the strangest part is?" I shake my head. "You have fallen for me, too."

I open my mouth but no words come out. What am I supposed to say to that? He is giving me way too much credit, and I didn't plan on falling in love with him. But I did. No point in denying my feelings for him now. "Yeah, I have." He smiles when I confirm my feelings for him. "That's why I don't want you to live your life as an outcast! You deserve so much better than this." I motion to the cabin, to the woods, to his scars.

"Maybe you're right," he says in a hushed whisper, as if his words are traitorous. "Maybe I do deserve better than the life I've been given, but all of the horrible things that have happened to me have led me to you." He closes the distance between us and envelopes me in a gentle embrace. I tuck my head under his chin as his fingers trace patterns on my back. "I'm not ready to go back into town just yet. Let's wait until your wrist is fully healed first." Fair enough. I'll wait until Peeta is ready to face the people of Panem again. "How about we go into the forest instead?"

We walk hand in hand out into the forest, the wind ruffling our hair. I decide to take him to the meadow so we can relax in the warm sunlight. He lets go of my hand and runs ahead of me as we approach our destination, his whole body trembling with excitement. I follow him at a much slower pace, listening to the birds singing, watching the squirrels scurrying up trees. Today is going to be a good day. Peeta has already flopped down on the grass by the time I make it to the meadow, his eyes closed and a smile plastered on his face. He doesn't move a muscle when I sit down beside him.

"Katniss." I turn my head to look at him, my eyes locking with his brilliant blue ones. "What are your hopes, your dreams?" He sees the uncertainty on my face and tells me about his aspirations for the future first. "I want to reopen the bakery someday. My family's legacy will die out if the bakery remains closed forever. What about you?"

I'm silent for a long time, thinking hard about the question. The future is a topic I've been avoiding my whole life. I prefer to live in the present because life can change in the blink of an eye. Hope fades, dreams die. I planned on teaching people about archery with the help of my father, then he passed away. I planned on running away into the woods to escape my sorrow, then Mom became so distant that I had to stay to take care of Prim. "I don't know," I say at last. "I had dreams when my father was alive. We were going to teach an archery class together."

"You shouldn't give up on your dreams just because he is no longer with you. I bet your father would be proud if you were to pass on the knowledge he taught you." I feel his lips on my neck, kissing me tenderly.

I lace my fingers with his and allow him to rub small circles on my skin with his thumb. Silence stretches out between us, calm and comfortable. I enjoy the feeling of him by my side, our bodies pressed together as we relax in the soft grass. "You're right," I tell him, casting a sideways glance at my companion. "I won't give up on my dream." He squeezes my hand before bringing it to his lips and kissing my knuckles. I rest my head against his shoulder and close my eyes, a sudden wave of tiredness washing over me. "But we have more important things to do right now."

"Yeah," he agrees sadly. "I wish that Panem wasn't so dangerous and the people weren't so hateful." I open my mouth to speak only to be silenced by a surprise kiss. "I'm glad that I have you."

My eyes snap open when I feel his weight on my body, covering me like a blanket. He is propped up on his elbows so as not to squish me, our noses touching ever so lightly. The first thing I notice is the warmth spreading from my head to my toes. The second is the strong desire to be closer to him, to eliminate every possible thing that separates us and just be with him. _All_ of him. Of course these thoughts and emotions make absolutely no sense to me. How can I be closer to him when he is practically on top of me? "Peeta…"

His face is flushed an adorable shade of pink. "Katniss," he says slowly, uncertainly, "Am I making you uncomfortable?" Before he can move, I wrap my arms around his waist and hold him against my chest, refusing to let him go. My actions seem to surprise him because he gasps softly, his fingers digging up fistfuls of dirt and grass. Eventually he relaxes into my embrace and rests more of his weight on my body, taking great care not to crush me. "I… This feels good."

I know exactly what he means, though I can't explain how or why I feel this way. No intelligible thoughts form in my mind, no words on my lips. All I can do is nod to show that I agree with his statement completely.

We stay like this for a long time, enjoying the strange and wonderful feelings we give to each other. It's not until Peeta flips us so that I am lying on his chest that I realize how sore my back has become. As if sensing my pain, Peeta's fingers rub the sore muscles until all the tension in them has been released and I feel a whole lot better. "Thought I might have been hurting you," he says sleepily, his eyes half-closed.

"You weren't," I assure him, tucking my head under his chin. He sucks in a breath when I shift into a more comfortable position. "Sorry." Peeta shakes his head and stifles a laugh, much to my confusion. "What?"

My question sends him over the edge and he is soon laughing so hard that tears are forming in his eyes. "You don't realize, do you?" I lift my head to look at him, my face a mask of confusion. What don't I realize? He leans up to nuzzle my cheek before offering me a very vague explanation. "You don't realize the effect you have on me."

"Is it a good effect?" I wonder aloud. Peeta covers his eyes with his hand but doesn't bother hiding the ridiculous smile on his lips. Why isn't he answering my question? "Well, is it?"

"A very good effect," he says at last, parting his fingers so he can get a glimpse of my face. "Don't you feel it too?"

I feel something warm, something that makes my heart beat faster. Is that what he is talking about? The warmth, the racing heartbeat? It feels so, so nice that I'm almost tempted to ask him what it is. The only reason I end up holding my tongue is because he'll probably laugh at me again. "I do," I admit in a whisper, not daring to look at him.

The next words that come out of his mouth both surprise and embarrass me. "I'm glad that you feel it too." He tilts my chin toward him, then captures my lips in a kiss that takes my breath away. "You want me." I'm not sure what he means by that. Of course I want him. I wouldn't be dating him if I didn't want him. "All of me." Peeta sits up abruptly, taking me with him. "Let's go back to the cabin now. It's getting late."

For the first time I notice that the sun has left the sky, leaving a faded orange color in its wake. "Okay." He takes my good hand in his and leads me back to the cabin, back to the place that has become his new home. Someday I hope to bring him back to Panem and prove to the townspeople that he isn't evil, but for now he has made the forest his refuge from the people who used to be his friends, his neighbors. For now he is safe from their hatred, safe from their cruelty.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry for the delay in updates. I've been busy this last week and haven't had time to work on this story.** **Anyway, enjoy the newest chapter of Monsters and Men!**

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I sneak Peeta back into town and lead him toward my house, our hands clasped tightly together. He is wearing a hooded jacket to hide his face from view, and I'm amazed at how little the townspeople pay attention to us when they can't see his scars. "Everybody is a lot happier now that they think I'm dead," he says softly, his voice almost lost on the wind. His free hand has gripped the sides of the hood to hold them closed, concealing even more of his face.

"That's not true. They're happy that people have stopped disappearing." I twine my fingers with his and slowly remove his hand from the hood, revealing some of his scars to the world. My thumbs rub soothing circles on his hands as I lean in to kiss him on the lips, smiling when he whimpers against my mouth. "Be brave, Peeta. For me."

He swallows hard and rests his forehead against mine, our lips mere centimeters apart. "I'd do anything for you," he replies sweetly, then closes the distance between us once more. We stay connected at the lips for several long moments, sharing our love and our strength with each other. The kiss does nothing to satisfy the hunger for him that I feel deep inside. "I'll be brave for you, Katniss."

We're halfway to my house when Seneca Crane appears from out of nowhere and makes his way toward us, a crazed look in his eyes. He stops in front of us, his hand held up to silence any oncoming comments. "I see that the fire mutt lives. If you keep him out of sight of the citizens, then nobody else has to vanish."

"Shut up, you creep," I hiss through clenched teeth. "We know that you've been covering for Snow. What has he done with those missing girls? What have you done with Rue and Posy?" He doesn't look at all surprised that we know his secret. Snow must have told him that we found his bunker, that we found his diary.

Seneca shakes his head slowly, a frown on his face. "It's a bad habit of his. He likes girls about your age, about your height and weight." He ignore my death glare and turns to address Peeta, his voice a hushed whisper. "I meant what I said. Stay out of sight, or I will deliver your girlfriend to Snow personally."

I'm about to respond when Peeta steps in front of me, his eyes narrowed to slits. "You won't touch her if you don't want us to reveal your dirty little secret to all of Panem."

"She won't die quickly," Seneca says, ignoring Peeta's threat. "We'll have _fun_ with her first." I have absolutely no idea what he means, but the comment seems to infuriate Peeta for whatever reason. He stands up tall, his hands balled into fists. Seneca only smiles at my boyfriend's response to his words. "It will hurt. You don't want her to hurt, do you?"

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" I move to stand beside Peeta, linking our arms together to calming him down. "We're not afraid of you or Snow."

Peeta's anger deflates the moment our bodies touch. "I won't show my face in this town ever again," he says to the creepy photographer. "So please, don't hurt her." Why is he giving up so easily? Does it have something to do with what Seneca said earlier?

"I promise not to lay a finger on that pretty little head of hers," Seneca sneers. He looks from me to Peeta and then nods, seemingly satisfied with the conversation. "Good. Now that we've reached an agreement, I must bid you farewell." With that said, the photographer vanishes into the crowded streets of Panem.

"What was _that_ about?" I ask once Seneca is out of earshot. Peeta doesn't respond. He simply pulls me into a gentle hug and buries his face in my neck, his hood falling back to uncover his blonde hair. "Peeta?"

He gives my neck a quick kiss before pulling the hood back over his head to hide his scars from view. "I'm sorry. I want to be brave for you, but there is something about that man that bothers me. He spoke as if hurting you was the most natural thing in the world." Thinking back on it, Seneca had sounded extremely calm when he spoke to us. Unnaturally calm. "There isn't a doubt in my mind that he will hurt you if I ever come out of hiding."

"Forget about him. He just doesn't want us to reveal his secret to all of Panem." I'm going to find a way to prove Peeta's innocence sooner or later, and we will uncover the truth of what really happened to the missing girls together. "Let's get going. My mother and Prim should be home soon."

It takes us only a few more minutes to make it to my house. There is a note on the door addressed to me that explains why my mother and sister will be home later than expected. I clear my throat before reading it aloud. "Hospital is understaffed today. I have to work overtime and won't be home until around five. Prim will be joining me at the hospital as part of her training. See you around dinner time." She must have left the note here on her lunch break. "Guess we have the house to ourselves for a few extra hours."

Peeta walks into my home and immediately discards his hooded coat. "What do you want to do?" he asks in an attempt to shake off the strange feeling that Seneca left in the pit of our stomachs. "We could watch a movie, play a board game, talk."

I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his waist, our lips meeting for a brief kiss. "How about a movie? Why don't you pick something for us to watch?" We settle down on the couch while he searches for a movie on Netflix. Leaving Peeta in charge of the movie was the best decision I could have made. He picks a very terrible horror flick that we both end up enjoying. The blood looks fake, the deaths are predictable, the two survivors fall in love. We spend most of the movie laughing at how silly it is instead of actually watching it. When it finally ends, I turn to Peeta and give him the widest smile I can manage. "Best terrible horror movie ever. I wasn't scared for a second, but it sure was fun to watch."

He leans in to kiss me slowly, tenderly. "Glad you like my taste in horror movies." He pulls away to glance at the clock before returning his lips to mine, and I assume by the way he is lazily kissing me that we still have awhile until my mom returns from the hospital with Prim. "I've never felt this way about anyone," he says when we finally break apart. "Not even before the fire."

I stare at him for a long time, trying to process the information. "Are you tell me that you've never had a girlfriend before?" He nods and quickly averts his gaze, an adorable pink blush on his face. I find it hard to believe that Peeta has never dated anyone before I came along. Who wouldn't want such a kind, loving person as their boyfriend? He is very generous, never makes me feel worthless or unwanted, always seems to brighten up my day somehow. "Why not?"

"Never connected with anybody the way I connect with you," he says honestly. It's not hard for me to understand what he means because I've never dated anyone for practically the same reason. I could never bring myself to trust another person so completely before I met Peeta. He doesn't hide his emotions or his intentions from me, not like the other boys I know. "Girls used to call me handsome, used to flirt with me, but I never showed any interest in them because there wasn't a connection. I didn't trust them with my heart."

"You trust me with your heart?" I feel both honored and unworthy of his trust. "Why me? What makes me different than the other girls?"

He leans back and laughs wholeheartedly at my question. "What makes you different? Where do I start?" I look at him expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate. "I can tell that you aren't the kind of person who would lie to me or cheat on me. You gave me your first kiss. Most people have their first kiss in high school, but you were waiting for the right person to give it to."

"I wanted it to mean something," I tell him truthfully, resting my head on his shoulder. "It meant something with you because I actually cared for you."

"You and I aren't so different. I also wanted my first kiss to mean something, which is why I waited to share it with you." I let out a gasp of surprise. Peeta's first kiss was with me? "I remember the warmth most of all. It started in my lips and then traveled to my chest, to my heart. I'll never forget the first time we were connected by our lips."

Peeta is so open with his emotions that it's impossible not to believe him, not to trust him. His honesty was the reason I learned to trust him so quickly and so completely in the first place. A guy who says something like that and actually means it isn't going to hurt me. "That's my line, Peeta. I'm supposed to say the cheesy, romantic stuff."

"I'm the romantic in this relationship, Katniss. You're the strong, defiant one who fell for the hideous romantic." He somehow ends up on top of me, our bodies fitting together like two pieces of a puzzle. It's almost as if we were _made_ for each other.

"You're not hideous. In fact, I think you're very handsome." That's the honest truth. Peeta has blonde hair that shines like the sun and beautiful eyes that are as blue as the sky. Even his face is handsome to me. The scars that everybody else fears are proof that he can survive against the odds. He should never feel ashamed or embarrassed of them.

He is about to respond when an awkward cough comes from behind us, startling us back into reality. Peeta sits up so suddenly that he loses his balance and tumbles off the couch. Prim giggles and rushes to his side, throwing her arms around him. His nervous expression mirrors my own as he hugs my sister and I turn to face my mother. "Are we interrupting something?"

"Oh please, Mom," Prim says, coming to our defense. "You know how Katniss is, and Peeta is a sweetheart. I doubt they were doing anything dirty." I know she means well, but Prim's choice of words cause both Peeta and I to blush a brilliant shade of red.

She looks between us for a few agonizing moments before nodding. "I don't care what they do as long as they don't do it on my couch." The discussion ends there, much to my relief. "Anyway, there is something more important that we need to talk about right now. Have you heard that a couple of hikers discovered a mass grave just outside of town?"

"A mass grave," Peeta repeats, his face draining of all color. "What was in the grave?" He holds Prim tightly in his arms, as if afraid that she might disappear next. My sister leans against him, seemingly oblivious to the dark conversation.

I feel a sudden chill run down my spine when my mother averts her gaze and refuses to answer his question. "The missing girls," I whisper. She bites her lip and nods, eyes welling with tears. We held out hope for so long that the girls would be found alive, but somewhere in my heart I knew that they had met their demise long ago. What reasons did Snow have to keep them alive? None that I can think of. "All of them were found?"

"All of them," she confirms sadly. "Except for Rue and Posy."

Prim speaks up for the first time since we began talking about the missing girls. "They're still alive, you know. They _have_ to be alive." Peeta and I have told my family about Seneca's diary and what he said had happened to the two young girls. "If Seneca had killed them, wouldn't they have been in the mass grave too?"

Peeta brushes his fingers through her hair comfortingly. "We can only hope that they're alive. According to Seneca's diary, Snow was the one responsible for abducting the other girls. He hasn't touched Posy or Rue, so it's safe to assume that they are alive and well with Seneca Crane."

"I sympathize with him," she says softly. "Losing a sister must be terribly painful, but he shouldn't try to replace the one he lost by kidnapping Rue and Posy. They have friends and family who miss them."

"We'll find them," Peeta promises her. "We'll bring them home alive."

I turn to face my mother, who is watching Peeta and Prim with a small smile on her lips. Our eyes meet for a split-second before she looks away again. "Who do they think is responsible for killing them and dumping their bodies in a mass grave?"

She lets out a long sigh before walking over to us and placing her hand on Peeta's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Peeta. You have been blamed for their murders." So that's why Seneca doesn't want him to show his face in town ever again. If everybody were to realize that Peeta is still alive, then we would have a chance of convincing them that he isn't the culprit. We would have a chance of convincing them that Seneca and Snow were responsible for the abductions and the murders. "Are you two hungry?" she asks in a desperate attempt to change the subject. "I was thinking of making spaghetti for dinner tonight."

"Let me help you with that," Peeta offers as he gets to his feet, Prim still clutched against his chest. He gives her one last hug before following my mother into the kitchen to fix dinner.

"Mom," Prim calls as soon as they are out of sight. "Can Peeta stay the night? If he leaves, then Katniss will leave too." I have been spending an awful lot of time at the cabin ever since Peeta was forced to move in there. "_Please_?"

My mother's head appears from behind the wall that separates the kitchen and the living room. "Of course, dear. He is always welcome in our home."

The four of us spend the rest of the night eating spaghetti, watching television, and talking about anything but the murders. Prim has managed to wedge her way between Peeta and I on the couch, chatting excitedly about how well her training is going. Peeta talks enthusiastically with my sister while his hand reaches around her to grab mine. It's normal moments like these that make him the happiest and make me wish I could find a way to reintroduce him into society. He deserves all the happiness in the world after what has happened to him these last few years, and I plan on spending the rest of my life bringing him all the joy he has been denied for so long.


	13. Chapter 13

**This chapter is rated M for a love making scene. It's really more about love than anything else because this is Katniss and Peeta we're talking about, but feel free to skip this chapter if you don't like that sort of thing. There's nothing terribly obscene about it, but I thought I would warn you guys since it does contain adult themes. **

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After visiting my mother and Prim in Panem, Peeta and I fall back into our normal routine of hiding out in the forest. It's too dangerous for us to confront Snow or Seneca without a proper plan first, but how exactly do we approach two people who have abducted and murdered several of our neighbors? There isn't a doubt in my mind that they will kill us too if they get the chance, and Peeta refuses to put me in a situation that could ultimately cost me my life. So here we are a week later, lying in bed as the sun slowly sinks below the horizon.

Peeta pulls the blanket over us to protect us from the shadows that are making their way into the cabin. His lips find mine effortlessly and he kisses me slowly, pouring every ounce of his love into the kiss. I feel warm and safe with him despite the awful situation we've found ourselves in. The two of us can survive anything as long as we are together. "Come here," he says softly, breaking the kiss.

I snuggle as close to him as I can possibly get, my head resting on his chest. The steady beat of his heart calms me down more than anything else ever could, and I find the same hunger I always feel for him retuning at full force. How can I satisfy it when kissing won't work? "Peeta?"

"Yeah?" Blue eyes meet mine when I tilt my head up to look at him, and I take this chance to kiss his lips with all the urgency that I'm feeling at the moment. He returns the kiss with as much passion as I am showing him, but I can tell that he is holding back. "Katniss," he breathes nervously. "Do you love me?"

The question catches me off guard. Of course I love him. I've never spoken the words out loud, but he should know by now that I wouldn't be here if I didn't love him. "Yes." He looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to say those three words to him. "I love you."

He searches my face for any sign of doubt or uncertainty but can find nothing to suggest that I'm lying. "I love you too." And that ends the discussion. His lips are pressed against mine before I even have a chance to wonder why he wanted to confirm my love for him. He kisses his way down my face and to my neck, sucking at the skin there. Something that sounds like his name escapes my lips at how unbelievably good that feels.

My fingers tangle in his hair, holding him close to me. I can feel heat rising from every spot he touches with his sweet lips. His hand has slipped under my shirt and is tracing patterns on my skin, encouraging me to reach under his shirt and trace the scars that run over his chest with my index finger. He moans against my neck and pauses only to discard his shirt, his hands and lips returning to my skin before I can protest. Determined to make him feel good too, I press my lips to his neck and copy everything that he does.

"May I?" he asks, tugging at my shirt. I nod in consent, and Peeta gently removes my shirt and tosses it onto the floor. His eyes flicker downward for an instant before he begins kissing my now exposed belly with great enthusiasm. It warms my heart to know that he is much more interested in loving on me than staring at me.

I trail one hand down his chest and the other down his back, stopping at the waistband of his pants. Stealing my courage, I slide his pants off and allow him to remove mine just as quickly. We both seem to realize that we're only in our underwear at the same time and freeze, neither of us knowing what to do now. "I've never done this before," I tell him softly, my cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"Me either." Our eyes meet and he smiles, letting me know that I'm not alone. "We don't have to continue if you aren't ready. I can wait forever as long as I get to share this moment with you someday."

"Peeta?" I ask shyly, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves. "Why did you want to confirm my feelings for you before we started undressing?"

He is silent for a long time, thinking it over carefully. "I just wanted to make sure you felt the same way. It's important to me that this means something to both of us." His lips meet mine for a long, sweet kiss that takes my breath away. "Should we stop? I don't want you to do something you might regret."

"I won't regret this," I say immediately, wrapping my arms around his waist to prevent him from moving away. He stares down at me with a look so full of love that my breath catches in my throat. "I want this. I want _you." _And that was all it took to end the conversation.

The rest of our clothes end up on the floor in a matter of seconds. "You're so beautiful," he says in a hushed tone, leaning down to kiss my forehead. Gentle fingers trail from my neck to my bellybutton lovingly. "I love you so much," he says as we connect for the very first time. I expected the pain but not the many kisses that followed to distract me from the pain. His lips have gone from hungry to soft and sweet as my body adjusts to his. It doesn't take all that long for me to get used to him. "Are you…" he swallows hard, wiping a stray tear from my cheek, "are you okay? Am I hurting you?" The look on his face is one of endless sorrow and guilt. He doesn't want to hurt me.

I shift my body into a more comfortable position. Peeta remains impossibly still as I move slightly and press myself against him, my arms curling around his neck. "Just give me a minute." He nods, a deep frown on his face. "It's okay. You're not hurting me." The frown persists, and I realize that he is waiting for every trace of pain to vanish from my face. "I'm fine now." He doesn't move. "Peeta?"

"It feels good," he murmurs after a moment of silence. "It feels good, but I don't like that I'm hurting you. Are you sure you're okay? I don't want to take pleasure from your pain." He whispers the last few words so quietly that I almost don't catch them. But I do. I stare at him for a long time, once again caught off guard by his words. What did I expect him to say? This is Peeta, and he loves me. The only thing I know about love is that it is patient, kind, giving, much like Peeta himself.

My fingers brush the scars on his face, an action that makes him moan softly with longing. I'm touched that he has given me so many chances to stop what we're doing, but the only problem is that I don't want to stop. "You worry too much," I say with a small smile. "Think about yourself for once. Enjoy the moment. Enjoy _yourself_."

He opens his mouth to protest but then snaps it shut, unsure of what to say or do. "I love you," he repeats, giving me one final kiss before moving so, so slowly until he finds a good rhythm. His eyes never leave mine as he picks up the pace, and I become very aware of how good this feels for him very fast. It doesn't take more than a few minutes of the continuous movements and my fingers caressing his face to send him over the edge. I hold him close until his body stops trembling and he has the strength to lie down at my side, his arms wrapping around me and pulling me onto his chest, letting me feel the frantic beat of his heart under the palm of my hand.

"You're not going to leave me in the morning, are you?" I joke, remembering the countless times love scenes have ended in movies or on television. I never really understood why the men would always leave in the morning. Then again, I never really understood why anyone would give themselves to someone they didn't truly love.

There are tears glistening in his eyes as he smiles and laughs at my joke. "Of course not. You are mine forever, Katniss Everdeen. I'm never letting you go after that." He grabs the blanket from where it has fallen and tucks it around us both, securing my body to his. "Next time," he whispers in my ear, "I'll make sure you feel as good as I do."

Heat rises to my cheeks, setting them on fire. Why is he so concerned about me and how I feel? "Don't worry about that, Peeta. It will always be great as long as it's with you." My eyes flutter shut and I drift off into a comfortable sleep, cocooned in Peeta's warm.

The sweet smell of cinnamon rolls greats me when I wake up in the morning. Peeta's side of the bed is empty, cold, but I can hear him moving around in the kitchen. I decide not to get up just yet because my body is a little sore from the activities last night. Rolling onto my side, I stare out the open door and into the hallway, trying to catch a glimpse of my lover as he goes about his business. When he pokes his head into our bedroom, I sit up and offer him a sleepy smile. "Good morning."

"Good morning, love." He enters the room with a plate piled high with cinnamon rolls. "I thought you might be hungry after last night." His face reddens and he averts his gaze as he sets the plate on the nightstand. "I've been thinking about something," he says while I take a bite of one of the delicious cinnamon rolls. "I'm going to be brave for you, Katniss. Your love gives me strength, and I know that I can face my fears as long as you are there with me."

"Does that mean you're not going to hide yourself anymore?" He gives a slight nod before settling down on the bed beside me. "Good. Let's go into town today and confront either Seneca or Snow. Which one should we go after first?"

Peeta shakes his head slowly, a perpetual smile on his face. "Tomorrow." I'm about to protest when his lips find mine and he steals my words with a flick of his tongue. "We will go into town tomorrow. I want you to spend the day resting while I pamper you like a princess." Is it possible to love this boy anymore than I already do? "And to answer your question, I think we should confront Seneca first. Rescuing Posy and Rue should be our top priority."

He has a point. I'm worried that Seneca will harm the two little girls now that we know his secret. If they are still alive, then Peeta and I need to get them away from him before it's too late. "Alright," I say, taking another bite of my breakfast. It's only then that I notice a word written on the cinnamon roll in gooey white frosting. Make that three words. "Did you write 'I love you' on all of these?"

"Maybe." He props my legs up on his lap and lays me back against the pillows until I am perfectly comfortable. "I really do love you, Katniss. I wasn't just saying that so you would sleep with me." That thought never even crossed my mind. I've realized early on in our relationship that Peeta wants to give love and receive love. Being hated by the townspeople must have amplified his desire to find someone who understands him and cares for him, and I'm glad that I can be the person he turns to when he needs friendship, affection, and love.

I finish my breakfast and lean in to give him a quick kiss. "You're the best," I whisper against his lips. My heart is full after making love to him, and I'm positive that this is the person I'm going to spend the rest of my life with.

Peeta grabs a sketchpad that is leaning against the nightstand and opens it up to the very first page. "What I woke up to this morning was simply beautiful. What we did last night was beautiful too," he adds shyly, casting a sideways glance at me. "So beautiful that I never, ever want to forget either of those moments." He hands me the sketchpad so that I can clearly see the two drawings on the page. The top half of the page is a picture of us together last night, sharing our love with each other. I can't help smiling at how perfectly he has captured the moment. The bottom half of the page is a picture of me curled up in his arms, sleeping the day away.

Tears fill my eyes as I close the sketchpad and give it back to him, not wanting to damage the work of art. That moment meant as much to him as it did to me. What did I do to deserve such a wonderful man in my life? What did I do to deserve the impossibly sweet baker's boy? "And you thought I would regret sharing such a special moment with you."

"I thought you might hate me for hurting you. It was never my intention to cause you such pain." He looks ashamed, guilty even as he reaches for my hand, our fingers entwining automatically. "Katniss, you gave me something that nobody else could ever give me. Your love."

"You gave me something too, Peeta." I tug on his arm until he is lying down beside me, his head tucked safely under my chin. "Hope for a brighter future."


	14. Chapter 14

Seneca Crane's house is located on the outskirts of Panem, near where the bodies were discovered. The building is ominous and intimidating, much like its owner. Large stone pillars give way to a garden filled with white roses that remind me of the flowers one would put on a grave. The house itself is jet black, resembling a storm cloud, and I suddenly feel very small and powerless in front of such an enormous structure. Peeta's hand reaches out to grab mine, the fear in his eyes mirroring my own fear.

"It's just a house," I say softly, taking a deep breath to quell the terror budding in my heart. Just the sight of the place where the murders possibly took place sends a chill down my spine, and I have the strong desire to turn and run away from here. But I don't run. I draw courage from Peeta, who is trying so hard to be brave for me. How could I ever face him again if I turned tail and fled? "It's just a house," I repeat to myself.

He takes a tentative step forward until he is standing in front of me, shielding me from the source of our fear. "It's Seneca Crane's house," he murmurs before knocking on the door. We wait several minutes for somebody to open the door, but nothing happens. Peeta and I share a nervous glance before he knocks again. Nothing. Not a sound can be heard from inside.

"Maybe he's not home," I suggest with a frustrated sigh. Peeta gives me a look of disbelief as he walks toward the nearest window, his footsteps thudding against the concrete porch. I'm about to follow him when I hear a strange sound coming from the garage on the other side of Seneca's home. I slip away from Peeta without thinking much about it and head for the garage, a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach. The door is open wide enough for me to make out what looks like a coffin in the far corner of the room, near a broken down car. Before I can get inside, a loud scream pierces the air, followed by the sound of something hitting the ground. Peeta! I turn on my heel and run toward him, fearing the worst.

Peeta is on the ground with his hands over his head, blood seeping through his closed fingers. "Stay back," he warns me, his voice pleading and full of worry. What happened to him? I don't have to wait long for Seneca to appear with a shovel in his hands, Peeta's blood dripping from the cold metal.

"Do as he says," the man snarls, motioning for me to move away from the scene. I take several steps backward very slowly, my eyes never leaving Peeta. Neither of us have heard the photographer ever sound so menacing before, so full of hatred. He must be scared that we will find the girls and turn him over to the authorities.

My back hits the garage and I sink to the ground, searching desperately for something to defend Peeta with. "Don't hurt him," I growl as my fingers curl around a rock. When Seneca takes a threatening step toward me, I toss the rock at his head and watch as it makes contact with his face. He drops the shovel and reaches up to touch his bruised nose, his eyes narrowed with hatred. I take this chance to lung forward and grab the shovel, returning to Peeta's side as fast as I can. "You're going to regret that, Seneca. Thread hurt Peeta too, and he paid for his crime with his life!" It wasn't my intention to kill the police officer, but all rational thoughts had been erased from my mind the moment he brutally beat the man I love.

"So you admit that you killed him? I can have you put to death for murdering a police officer in cold blood." He regains his bearings and makes his way toward us, hands clenched into fists. "No, wait. I have a better idea." Seneca reaches into his pocket and pulls out what looks like a handful of berries. "You see these barriers?" he asks, holding them out for us to see. "They are called Nighlock, and you're going to eat them."

Nightlock? Why does that name sound familiar to me? I stare at them until the reality of the situation hits me like a ton of bricks. Those are poisonous berries. Seneca wants to kill us. "And what if we refuse?"

"The berries are only for you, girl." He shoves me away from Peeta and presses his foot to my boyfriend's chest, preventing him from moving. "The fire mutt is nothing without you. If you eat the berries like a good little girl, then I promise not to torture your lover for the rest of his life."

My mouth is so dry that I can barely force out any of the questions I have for him. "What are you going to do to him?" I stare at the sinister berries in his hand. Is this the only way to save Peeta from a fate worse than death?

"Let's just say that he will never be treated like a human being again." He presses down on Peeta's ribcage, causing him to cry out in pain. I cup my hands and hold them out to Seneca, allowing him to pour the deadly berries into my upturned palms. "Eat them."

I shake my head. Does he really think I'm that dumb? "Let him go first." Seneca removes his foot from Peeta's chest and allows him to crawl away. I turn to Peeta, who looks horrified at what I'm about to do. Perhaps we have a shot at getting away if we were to run now. No, that won't work. Seneca will come after us, send me to prison for murder, and treat Peeta horribly for the rest of his life. It's best for all three of us if I die here. "Run!" I shout at Peeta when I see him standing there, his eyes wide and tearful.

"I'm not leaving you," he says adamantly. Of course he wouldn't run away to save his own life. The two of us are bound together by a bond that can never be broken by pain, or hatred, or terror. He would die for me as quickly as I would die for him. "Don't eat them. It's not worth it."

Looking between Seneca and Peeta, I suddenly realize that I have an advantage against our attacker. He is unarmed and no longer has a captive. The berries fall through my open fingers as I raise the shovel high over my head, ready to strike. "Back off, you monster." I swing the shovel for good measure, and Seneca retreats toward his house. "Don't you ever threaten Peeta again. You may think his life is worthless, but I love him! I won't let you or anybody else hurt him."

Peeta takes his rightful place at my side, his arm coming to rest around my waist protectively. "I'm not normally a violent person," he says softly. "But I won't hesitate to defend Katniss from danger, from you."

"It seems I've underestimated you two," Seneca murmurs as he walks toward us again, no longer afraid of us. "However, love is more of a weakness than it is a strength. Both of you would die to protect each other, and that's exactly what I want you to do. Die. All I have to do is get my hands on one of you again and the other will crumble." He lunges for me with malice in his eyes, but Peeta effortlessly lifts me up and sidesteps the photographer.

"You don't seem to realize how strong we are together," Peeta tells him with a shake of his head. He sets me down carefully and gives me a kiss on the lips. "Katniss is my partner, my best friend, the other half of my soul. You won't touch her if you know what's good for you."

I take his hand in mine and hold onto it tightly while I glare at Seneca. There are two of us and only one of him. He doesn't stand a chance. "We're here for Posy and Rue. Where are you keeping them?" He raises an eyebrow in response to my question but doesn't utter a word. "Well?"

"Follow me," he says at last, leading us to his garage. He opens the door all the way and motions for us to step inside. "Ladies' first." The words are barely out of his mouth when he grabs my arms and pulls me inside, successfully separating me from Peeta. Seneca slips into the garage and closes the door before Peeta can react, trapping me inside and him outside.

"Katniss!" Peeta bangs on the door in a desperate attempt to reach me. His cries are frantic and full of worry. "Katniss!" I can see Seneca smile in the dim light of the garage, a cold, cruel smile that chills me to the bone. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please don't hurt her. Please." Peeta. Seneca is hurting him more than he is hurting me by separating us.

It suddenly dawns on me that Seneca is using me to get to Peeta. The man hasn't touched me since he shut us in here, but I can tell that he takes great pleasure in Peeta's pain. "Why do you hate him so much? Why do you want to hurt him?"

He makes his way toward the coffin in the corner and opens it, taking a lock and a gun from inside before turning back to me. "If the fire mutt takes the blame for the abductions, then Snow and I will be free to live our lives in peace. I warned that boy of yours not to show his ugly face around here again, and this is his punishment for disobeying me." Seneca points the gun at me with all the calmness of a madman. "Get in the coffin."

I do as he says and climb into the coffin, my body barely fitting into the small box. He closes the lid and locks it up tight, preventing me from escaping on my own. I bang on the lid as hard as I can to no avail. It won't open. "Don't hurt him," I mutter weakly, coughing on dust and dirt. "It's my fault that he came out of hiding."

A single gunshot echoes throughout the garage, its intention made clear by the sobs that follow it. Peeta must think I'm dead. "I warned you, fire mutt. I warned you not to show your ugly face in this town again." He opens the door and exits the garage, leaving me alone. "She wasn't quite as much fun as I thought she would be."

Heavy footsteps can be heard fading into the distance until all that remains are Peeta's heartbroken sobs. Seneca is gone. "I'm sorry, Katniss. So sorry," he says in a hushed whisper, his voice laced with pain. "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have let you fall in love with me… It's all my fault…"

"Peeta!" I shout as I slam my palms against the coffin, but he can't hear my muffled screams over the sound of his sobbing. "Peeta, I'm in here. I'm alive." It's no use. I'll have to wait for him to find me on his own.

It takes several long minutes for him to finally make his way into the garage, his feet shuffling against the floor as if he doesn't have the strength to lift them. He is silent for a long time, taking in the scene in front of him. "Katniss?" he finally whispers in confusion. I hear him stumble around in the dark until he finds the lights, flicks them on, and proceeds to look for my body. When he nears the coffin, I pound my fists against the small box I'm being kept in. "Katniss, are you in there?"

"Yes," I say loudly, my voice cracking. "Get me out of here."

He backs away from me, presumably looking for something to break the lock with. I take a few deep breaths to calm my nerves and wait for him to come back. "I'm going to get you out of there, okay?" he tells me when he returns to the coffin. I don't have time to respond before he hits the lock with something heavy and metal. Three more strikes later and the lock breaks, allowing Peeta to lift the lid and pull me out of my prison. He holds me close to his chest, tears dripping down his face and onto mine. "I thought you were dead. Thought I lost the only person I've ever loved." He leans down to kiss my forehead. "I love you so, so much, Katniss. More than you will ever know."

I wrap my arms around his trembling body and bury my face in his neck. "You'll never lose me," I assure him, my lips finding the tender spot on his neck. "Nobody will ever take me away from you. We're in this together, remember? Always have been, always will be."


	15. Chapter 15

The two of us remain wrapped up in each other's arms for what seems like hours, trying to find the strength to break apart again. Peeta has kissed every inch of my face a hundred times over by the time he finally calms down, and I wipe the few persistent tears from his cheeks with an affectionate swipe of my thumb. He smiles and leans down to kiss my lips. "You are the most important person in my world. The only person I would die to protect."

"I would do the same for you in a heartbeat, Peeta," I tell him honestly. He gives me one last kiss before slowly getting to his feet and pulling me up with him, our hands clasped tightly together. I lead him out of the garage and toward Seneca's house, all the while keeping a lookout for the creepy photographer. "Do you know where he went?"

Peeta glances around the immediate area, his eyes narrowed and his lips twisted down in a frown. There's no doubt in my mind that he would confront Seneca Crane if the man were still here. "No. I saw him walking toward the forest, but he could be anywhere. Let's find the girls and get away from here."

It's almost too easy to get into Seneca's house. The door is unlocked, and the house is eerily quiet. I decide to check the upstairs rooms while Peeta searches the downstairs rooms, both of us agreeing to meet in the living room in exactly ten minutes. What I find upstairs is the very diary that Peeta and I found in the bunker a month or so ago. I flip through it to make sure that all the information is still there before tucking it safely under my arm and continuing my search for the girls. When it becomes clear that they are not up here, I head downstairs to find our meeting spot empty. Why isn't Peeta back yet?

As the minutes tick by, I begin reading random entries from Seneca's diary in an attempt to piece together exactly what happened to the abducted girls and to Rue and Posy. Seneca is very careful not to mention any of the victims by name, but I do find an entry that the police might be able to use against him and Snow. _November 2__nd__._ _My good friend, Coriolanus Snow, has a nasty habit that I don't approve of. He has become obsessed with watching twenty year old girls without their knowledge. There are cameras all over his property, and he will sit in his attic and watch as the young college students he hires to clean his home go about their business. It's sickening. _I slam the diary closed in disgust. That doesn't explain what happened to them. All we can do is speculate, and speculation won't get either of them thrown in jail!

I'm about to call for Peeta when he stumbles back into the living room, gasping for breath. "Katniss," he pants excitedly. "There's a cellar door outback. I think that's where the girls are being kept. Help me open it." I follow him out the back door and toward a cluster of rose bushes that are growing suspiciously close to the house, as if concealing something from view. He pulls the bushes apart to reveal a cellar door that has been locked up tight. "I almost didn't see it at first. Seneca sure did a great job of hiding it from us."

"Rue? Posy?" I call out uncertainly, tapping on the door. "It's me, Katniss. Are you in there?" I can hear movement coming from inside, but nobody answers my call. Perhaps they are too terrified to speak or are incapable of speaking. "The bad man is gone now. We're here to rescue you."

"Katniss?" That sounds like Posy's voice. "Is it really you, Katniss?" She sounds so weak, so frail. I can't even imagine what the poor girl has been through this last year. "Is it really safe to come out now?"

It's Peeta who answers her this time. "Don't worry, Posy. The bad man can't hurt you anymore. Is Rue down there with you?"

"I'm here," another voice replies. "Can you get us out of here? It's dark, and we want to go home." She sounds more hopeful than Posy, more willing to believe that we are here to rescue them.

Peeta grabs the nearest rock he can find and begins striking the lock until it breaks. We pull open the doors and stare down into the dark cellar, horrified at the sight of the weak little girls. They are very thin, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. I gather Posy into my arms and lift her into the sunlight while Peeta brings Rue out of the cellar. "Let's get them home."

We decide to take Rue home first because her house is closer than Posy's. The little girl stands on her front porch and rings the doorbell several times, waiting patiently for somebody to answer. When the door cracks open, Rue launches herself into her surprised brother's arms. "I'm home, Thresh. I'm home." The man is stunned for a few moments but then he returns the hug, his eyes welling up with tears. It's been a year since the siblings have seen each other. "Katniss and her friend, Peeta, saved me."

Thresh shakes both of our hands. "Thank you for bringing my little sister home." He stares at Peeta for a long time, his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, and I'm worried that he might say something hateful to him. To my relief, Thresh smiles and repeats his earlier words of gratitude.

"You two should file a police report later. Katniss and I want to get this man off the streets so that nobody else goes missing," Peeta tells Thresh, who merely nods in response to my boyfriend's words. "Take care, Rue." He pats her on the head affectionately before turning around and heading toward Posy's house. "Who became the head police officer after Thread died?" he asks me.

That's a good question. Whoever it is, I hope they aren't as corrupt as the former head police officer was. "No idea. Guess we'll find out when we turn in the diary." When we arrive at Posy's house, I ring the doorbell and wait for somebody to come to the door. "Remember what you need to do, Posy?"

She looks up at me and nods. "Yes. I'll report Mr. Seneca Crane for kidnapping me and Rue." It's not long before Rory appears in the doorway, his eyes wide with disbelief. Posy offers him a small smile as he carefully throws his arms around his little sister. "Hello, Rory."

"Posy! You're back. You're okay." He buries his face in her hair and lets out a soft sob. Rory had given up all hope of ever seeing his sister again, and I'm glad that we could reunite them. "Gale, Vick, Mom, Posy is home! She's come home!" Peeta and I back away from the porch as Posy's entire family rushes outside to greet the little girl.

Everybody is crying and hugging Posy and thanking us. Everybody except Gale. He is standing off to the side, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed. I stare back at him in confusion. What's his problem? Shouldn't he be happy that we found his little sister? Several minutes pass before he finally speaks up. "Guess I was wrong about you," he says to Peeta, holding out his hand. Peeta casts a sideways glance at me before taking his hand and shaking it. "Thank you for bringing her home to us."

"I'm just glad that she is okay," Peeta replies with a smile. I notice something akin to guilt in Gale's eyes. Does he feel bad for treating Peeta so horribly before? I want him to apologize, but Gale isn't the type to admit that he was wrong.

The Hawthornes invites us inside, but we politely decline the invitation in favor of turning over Seneca's diary to the police. As we approach the police station, I begin to feel very nervous about how the authorities will react to our claim. What if they don't believe us? No, they have to believe us. Rue and Posy will stop by later to tell them their side of the story, and I'm hopeful that the girls' testimonies will give the police enough information to arrest Seneca for kidnapping. I keep that thought in mind as we enter the station and ask to see the head police officer. The receptionist tells us to take a seat while she informs a man named Darius that we are here to see him.

We are only waiting for a few minutes before Darius approaches us, his eyes on Peeta. "You two want to file a police report, right?" I nod, and he motions for us to follow him. "Let's talk in private. My office is just down the hall." He leads us to a messy room with stacks of papers piled everywhere but where they are supposed to be. "Start at the beginning," he says once he has sat down behind his overly cluttered desk.

Peeta explains the whole story, then hands him the diary. I hold my breath as the officer casually flips through the diary, occasionally stopping to read an entry or two. His eyes widen every now and then, disgust apparent on his face. Once he sets the book aside, Peeta clears his throat and asks the only question on either of our minds. "Is that enough evidence to have him locked up?"

"I can't believe Seneca Crane is a kidnapper," Darius says, ignoring Peeta's question. "I've known the man for years. The whole town has!" He closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose, seemingly lost in thought. "If Posy and Rue were to press charges, then we would be able to arrest Seneca for kidnapping. However, it's impossible to charge him or Mr. Snow with murder based on this diary, your theories, or whatever the girls have to say. There simply isn't enough hard evidence to suggest that either of them were involved with the murders."

"But Snow is up to something," I argue angrily. "It even says in Seneca's diary that he was watching girls while they were cleaning his house." He can't seriously be dismissing the evidence we do have against Snow, can he?

Darius leans back in his chair. "Ms. Everdeen, having cameras in your home and keeping tabs on your workers isn't illegal."

"I know that!" I snap in frustration, my hands balled up into fists. Taking a deep breath, I stare Darius in the eye and try to convey my thoughts to him in words. "Snow is the one who gave Seneca the idea of kidnapping Posy and Rue. It says so in one of his diary entries. Isn't that enough to at least get a warrant to search his house?"

He folds his arms across his chest and lets out a long, sad sigh. Has he known Snow for as long as he's known Seneca and doesn't want to believe that both men are responsible for the abductions? His next words confirm my suspicions. "I don't want to jump to any conclusions without hearing the girls' statements first."

"Then we'll come back after they have given their statements," Peeta says as he heads toward the door, a look of defeat on his face.

Darius gives a curt nod before stashing the diary in one of his desk drawers. Hopefully it won't get lost among the clutter in his office. "That would be best."

A dark cloud hangs over us as Peeta and I leave the police station and make our way back to my house. I can't help wondering if Darius is in on it and will do nothing to stop the photographer from kidnapping again. We're about halfway to my house when I finally break the silence between us. "Do you think he believes us? Do you think he will arrest Seneca when the girls give their statements?"

"I don't know," Peeta admits miserably. "It's bad luck that he has known Seneca and Snow for a long time." He reaches my house first and holds the door open for me, his arm outstretched to guide me inside. "After you, my love."

I check to make sure that my mother and Prim aren't home before dragging Peeta into the bathroom with me. He looks confused and then surprised when I start filling up the tub and stripping off my clothes. "Take a bath with me," I whisper, my face turning bright red at the thought of bathing with him. We both could use a nice, relaxing bath after everything we've been through today.

He wastes no time shedding his clothes and sinking into the rising water. I pour some bubbles into the water and then join him in the tub. "Let me give you a massage," he says as he positions me in front of him, his hands resting on my shoulders. I'm so overcome with emotion by the kind gesture of affection that I practically melt into his embrace. His touch is soothing, and he knows exactly how to release the tension in my muscles with his skilled fingers. It's not long before I feel completely relaxed and free of worries. The only person in the world that matters right now is Peeta. "How does that feel?"

"Great." As my eyes flutter closed, Peeta continues to massages my shoulders and my back, freeing my body of all aches and pains. I feel his lips on my skin every now and then, loving on me, reassuring me that everything will be alright in the end. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He holds me from behind long after he has finished massaging my body. I watch with an amused grin as he dips his finger into the bubbles and spreads them around, writing words and drawing pictures in the foam. He writes my name over and over again in the bubbles, then draws a heart underneath for added effect.

Rolling my eyes, I write his name next to where he wrote mine. He scoops a handful of bubbles and plops them on my chin, giving me a white beard. I swat them away and turn my head to glare at him, the hint of a smile on my face. "Don't do that."

"What?" he asks innocently, gathering another handful of bubbles. "This?" He smears the bubbles all over my face, taking great care not to get them in my eyes or mouth. "You look great with an old man beard and sideburns."

I playfully slug his shoulder. "Are you calling me an old man?" His response comes in the form of a muffled laugh, and I can't help laughing at how ridiculous I must look with a foamy beard and sideburns.

"You're beautiful, Katniss," he says once he has calmed down. "So beautiful."

We stay in the tub until the water gets too cold to bare, then we dry each other off and dress in comfortable pajamas. I lead him out of the bathroom and into my room, flopping down on the bed and patting the spot beside me. He slips under the covers and settles down by my side. Brushing my fingers through his soft curls, I give him a kiss goodnight. "Hopefully everything will be better in the morning."

"It will be," he assures me, his eyes drifting shut. I snuggle up against him and tuck us both into bed, my arms coming to rest around his chest. He nuzzles my nose and then kisses my lips, a content smile on his face. "We reunited two families and gave the police some evidence against the man responsible for abducting the little girls. I'm certain that everything will be alright from now on."


	16. Chapter 16

**There is some mature content at the end of this chapter. If you don't want to read it, then feel free to skip it.**

* * *

Word gets out that Seneca Crane was responsible for the abduction of Rue and Posy. The two little girls did press charges against the photographer, and Darius arrested Seneca after I lead him to the bunker in the woods. Once captured, Seneca was very eager to tell everyone what role Thread played in the crime. Everyone in town now knows that Thread killed Cato in order to justify trying to drown Peeta in the river for a crime he didn't commit.

As more and more information about the disappearances is revealed, the town of Panem begins to rally behind Peeta and me. Some people have even begun to treat him like a regular human being again, like one of them. Peeta has befriended Thresh and Rory for saving their sisters. Gale, of course, is still cautious around him, but I'm positive that he only keeps his distance from Peeta because he regrets how mean he was to the kindhearted baker.

I have made a request to the town's mayor, Mr. Undersee, that the bakery be rebuilt. He thought it was a great idea and has already paid a construction crew to fix it up within the next several months. Full ownership of the bakery will go to Peeta.

Life slowly returns to normal for us. Peeta has moved into my house, and we are allowed to share a room on the grounds that we don't do anything intimate while my mother and Prim are home. That's an easy promise to keep since we enjoy spending time together more than we enjoy being intimate. Peeta is more than just a lover to me. He is my best friend.

"Katniss," Peeta says one morning as I'm heading into the backyard to practice my archery skills. I pause in the doorway and turn to look at him, tilting my head to the side in confusion. "Seneca was sentenced to life in prison for two counts of kidnapping and child endangerment."

"Serves him right," I replied with a smug grin. I'm glad that the creepy photographer is behind bars after everything he put those girls through, after everything he put us through. If we can pin the murders on him too, then Seneca might even be sentenced to death. "Any news on Snow?"

Peeta shakes his head. "Not enough evidence to charge him with anything. With Seneca in prison, I doubt Snow will abduct anyone on his own. The only times he took action was when you and Alma Coin confronted him."

It's too bad that there wasn't enough evidence to charge Snow with murdering Coin. I know he is guilty of the crime, but it's impossible to prove his guilt beyond a shadow of a doubt. Oh well. I'll just be happy when he is finally behind bars too. "At least Seneca won't bother us anymore. All we need to do now is convince the police that Snow had something to do with the abductions." I turn my back to him and walk out into the backyard, my bow raised at the target that is attached to the fence.

He follows me outside and watches as I practice shooting several arrows at the target, hitting the center mark almost every time. I retrieve my arrows and begin all over again. "How do we do that?"

"We'll figure it out," I say dismissively, launching my last arrow at the target. It hits just above the center mark. "How does it feel to be accepted by the people of Panem again?"

A bright smile lights up his face. "It's great. Some people are still distant and cold. My face is hideous, after all." I set my bow down on the grass and turn to look at him with my hands on my hips. Before he can speak, I give him a swift kiss on the lips. "Okay, okay. It's not that hideous, but there are people who are still afraid of my appearance."

"Why should that matter? My family, Gale's family, Thresh's family all adore you. Give the others some time to warm up to you, Peeta. It won't happen overnight." I throw my arms around him, causing him to lose his balance and fall onto the grass. He rolls us over so that he is on top of me, a playful look in his eyes. I place the palm of my hands on his chest and push him off me. "It's nice not to have to hide out in the woods, don't you think?"

His fingers caress my cheek lovingly. "I missed being in town. Panem is my home." He sits up suddenly, pulling me up with him. There is an unreadable expression on his face. "We should celebrate my return to Panem with a date. What do you say? Will you go on a date with me, Katniss?"

I kiss him tenderly on the lips. "Okay." Peeta has been talking about taking me on a date for over a week, and I would never turn down a chance to spend time with him. We have so much to celebrate now that Seneca is gone and Peeta has been accepted by Panem.

"Let's go bowling," he says with a sly grin. What's he up to? "I was thinking we could raise the stakes a little. If you win, I'll do whatever you say for the rest of the night. If I win, you will do whatever I say for the rest of the night. Deal?" When I don't respond right away, Peeta presses his lips to my forehead and kisses me softly. "It's a game of trust. The loser has to believe that the winner won't do anything to harm them. Don't you trust me, Katniss?"

"I trust you," I reply automatically. After everything we've endured together, how can I not trust him? "Fine, it's a deal. You better be prepared to lose."

We make our way to the bowling alley hand in hand, a goofy grin plastered on both of our faces. Peeta waves to a few of his new friends as we pass by them on the way to our destination. Seeing him so happy makes me happy. He deserves to be treated like an equal after everything he's done for this town. "Can you believe that the bakery is being rebuilt?" he asks excitedly. "And I'm the owner now. I finally have the chance to continue my family's legacy."

"I bet they would be very proud of you, Peeta. Proud that you survived the fire and have startled life anew like a phoenix rising from the ashes. You are very brave, and I am so proud of you." Peeta has come a long way from the frightened, lonely man I first met. All he needed was a good friend, some encouragement, and love to overcome the odds and find his place in society again. He still has a long way to go until he completely overcomes his fears and the people's fear of him, but I believe that his life will return to the way it was before the tragic fire someday soon.

"You helped me achieve my dream of reopening the bakery, Katniss, and I want to help you achieve your dream of teaching an archery class," Peeta says as we approach the bowling alley. "I talked with the schoolboard recently, and they have agreed to allow an archery class to be taught by Ms. Katniss Everdeen at Panem High."

My jaw drops at the surprising news. "Really?" I stop walking to give him a big hug. "Thank you so much, Peeta, but you didn't have to do that for me."

He lifts me into his arms and carries me the rest of the way to the bowling alley. "Of course I did. You've given me your love and my life back. I can never repay you enough for believing in my innocence, for helping to prove my innocence."

We switch into some bowling shoes, grab two brightly colored balls, and then head toward an open lane. Peeta types in my name as 'Kat' and his name as 'Peet' on the scoreboard. It's been a long time since I've gone bowling, but I manage to get a spare on my first turn by knocking all the pins down in two tries. Peeta isn't so lucky. He misses the pins completely on his first try, then hits three of them on his second try.

"Are you sure you still want to go through with this bet?" I ask when I get a perfect strike. Peeta does better this time by knocking all but two pins down. "We can always cancel the bet and just play for fun."

"No way," he response as he tosses the ball down the lane, hitting over half of the pins. "I still have a shot at winning." The only way he will win this game is if I never hit another pin again. Deciding to support him despite his disadvantage, I cheer when he gets a spare. "Not bad, huh?"

I grab my ball and walk toward the lane, ready to get another strike. "Not bad," I admit, knocking over every pin in one shot. "But not good enough to beat me."

After a few more turns, I win the first game and convince him to play two more games with me. He wins the second one and I win the third. "Looks like you win, Katniss," he says as we sit down at the snack bar. "Hungry?" I nod, and he orders us a basket of cheesy fries. "Now that I'm your servant for the evening, what will you have me do?"

"You can start by feeding me some fries." Peeta grabs a few fries and carefully places them in my open mouth, an amused expression on his face. I lean against his shoulder while he continues to feed me fries. Once they are all gone, Peeta orders another basket of fries and starts the process all over again until I'm full.

We leave the bowling alley happy and carefree. I ask nothing else of him until we are a few blocks away from my house. "Carry me." He slows to a stop and stares at me in confusion. "Carry me," I repeat, coiling my arms around his neck. "On your back." He helps me onto his back and begins walking toward the house at a dreadfully slow pace. "Faster! Run!"

"Yes, ma'am." Peeta sprints down the street with me on his back. When he reaches the front door, I release the death grip I have on his neck and drop to the ground. "Peeta Mellark, the fastest horse in town," he says proudly.

I kiss him on the lips just as the door opens and Prim slips outside. "Get a room, you two," she teases as she crosses the lawn to meet Rory in front of his house. Peeta chases after her, scoops her into his arms, and jogs across the grass to where Rory is standing. "Peeta, put me down," she says through a fit of laughter.

"Only if you promise not to get into trouble." He grins and sets her down on the ground before turning to Rory. "You take care of her, okay?"

Rory rolls his eyes. "We're only studying, Peeta." He opens the door for Prim to go inside, then turns around to face Peeta again. "My mom wanted me to tell you that she can't wait for the bakery to be reopened."

"Tell her that I'll give her a discount on all purchases once the bakery is up and running." Peeta waves goodbye to Rory, then returns to my side in a matter of seconds. "Sorry about that. What else can I do for you, ma'am?"

"You can love on me," I say softly, blushing.

His face turns bright red at my words. "Oh, okay. I promise to make you feel good this time," he says as we walk straight to my bedroom and lock the door. "Lie down, and let me make you feel good."

My clothes are off and my back hits the bed before I have time to process what he just said. He takes a good look at me this time, and I feel embarrassed that I'm the only one who is naked. "Peeta…" All thoughts are erased the moment he touches my breasts with his hands.

"I was greedy last time. Let me make it up to you." Peeta and the word greedy don't mix. Neither of us really knew what we were doing last time. I wanted it to be good for him and didn't really care if it was good for me, but somehow Peeta made it good for me just by being himself. "You're so beautiful."

With his mouth on mine and his hands massaging my breasts, I feel a strange sensation building inside me that both excites and frightens me. Is this how I made Peeta feel last time? I gasp when one hand leaves my breast and travels lower and lower until he reaches the most intimate part of me. Our eyes lock as he slowly begins touching me there, spreading warmth and pleasure throughout my entire body. He leans down to kiss my lips one final time before I come undone underneath him.

"I love you, Katniss," he says against my lips. "I'm sorry I didn't do that for you last time. It was really selfish of me."

"Peeta." I tangle my fingers into his hair and bring his head closer to mine, kissing his swollen lips. "You have nothing to apologize for. Both of us were inexperienced the first time. I didn't know how to love you and you didn't know how to love me. We are slowly figuring these things out together."

He dresses me in a baggy t-shirt and some pajama bottoms before crawling into bed with me. "Together," he agrees, tugging the blanket over our exhausted bodies. "Always together."


End file.
